


Feels Like the First Time

by Rhubery



Category: Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types
Genre: Developing Relationship, Established Relationship, F/M, Grown-up, Healthy Relationships, Japan, Judo, Kissing, Oral Sex, Original Character(s), Rough Sex, Sex, Theatre, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex, Weddings, phd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2019-03-18
Packaged: 2019-06-26 10:34:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 41,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15661476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhubery/pseuds/Rhubery
Summary: After her recent breakup with her boyfriend of nearly 4 years, Hannah Brown gets invited to Japan to do her PhD. Even though her heart is broken, her dreams seem to be coming true. She throws herself into her new life only to discover that her messed up love-life may have followed her half-way around the world!While in Japan, she meets Mei Yasumura who introduces her to the host club who are all grown up. Some things have changed, but one thing certainly hasn't ...





	1. Prologue - The Arrival

I rubbed my dry eyes as I watched the luggage go round on the carousel. I saw two bags with a purple ribbon on the handles and rushed forward to grab them, groaning at the weight of the largest case.  _You shouldn't have brought so many books,_  I thought to myself but just rolled my eyes, knowing that I would have brought more if I could have. The wheels of the cases barely made any sound as I walked through the empty departure lounge; it was 11 P.M here so I wasn't surprised. 

My eyes quickly scanned the many signs over the exit doors and I felt a new spurt of energy when I found the one that led me to the train terminal. I began to panic slightly when I realised it was taking me longer to reach it than expected but when the ticket machines came into view I breathed a heavy sigh of relief. 

The train was relatively empty so I was able to get the seat next to the luggage rack to keep an eye on my bags. Although, as we pulled away from the platform, I couldn't take either eye off the window in eagerness. The bay was lit by the buildings that lumbered over it, getting brighter as we got closer to the city. Before long, the buildings became a tangled jungle, obstructing any view of the bay and the darkness of the night was exchanged for the fluorescent glow of the city.

Two trains later, I arrived at the station near my new home and followed the directions I had written down along the well-lit streets. Keeping my head low, I walked as fast as my tired legs would carry me, not even pausing to look at a park I walked past.  _Tomorrow is for exploring,_ I thought and my patience was rewarded by the familiar exterior of the building that would now be my home. Walking inside, I took a moment to survey the interior; a warm but simple foyer area with what looked to be post boxes and a security desk. A weathered man sat behind the desk with a polite smile directed at me.

"Bura-oon- san?" He asked, my surname shifting to be easier to pronounce for him. I smiled and nodded, too tired to be polite in another language. Making my way over to the desk, I handed him a plastic wallet that held the documents that needed checking for me to stay here. After a few minutes, the man gestured for me to follow him as he made his way towards the lift opposite the door. Fortunately, the ride in the lift was short, my flat being only on the first floor. The man opened the first door on the left and I frowned, hoping that the lift wouldn't be too loud. 

"Have a nice stay." The man said with a slight bow before leaving me somewhat perplexed, still in the doorway. I took a deep breath as I scanned over the room. A small kitchen was on my right with glossy white cabinets and small lights that gave off a pleasant, warm glow. The plain wood effect flooring ran from the kitchen, through the hallway I was stood in and to the living room I could see around the corner of the kitchen. Pulling my bags behind me, I moved through to the living room and was pleasantly surprised by the comfy looking sofa, simple glass coffee table over a red rug and two seater table in the corner. To my left, I saw two doors leading off a small hallway which I assumed were the bedroom and bathroom.

Before I had a chance to check them out, there was a knock at the still open door behind me. I span around to see a woman who looked slightly older than me with dark blonde hair that curled gently around her thin face. Her green eyes sparkled with amusement at my surprise but her lips stretched into a warm smile.

"Hello," I offered, still unsure about what to do.

"Hello," she chuckled slightly in a warm, husky voice. "I'm Yasumura Mei. I live across the hall." She continued with a nod of her head to the door behind her. "You've just moved in?" She asked even though she could definitely see my bags from where she was.

"Yes. I've only just arrived. I'm Brown Hannah. Nice to meet you." I said with a smile and bow. She was smirking at me again in amusement when I raised my head but I could tell it was at my formality and not because I'd made a mistake. 

"Would you like a drink?" She offered, moving to the side as if to turn towards her flat. For a moment I considered turning her down but she seemed friendly and it would be very useful to be on good terms with a neighbour. I nodded with a smile in response to her offer then grabbed the envelope with my flat number on it off the coffee table then followed after her when I have the keys. Her flat was very similar to mine with the same layout and decor but with warm, homely touches like photos, cushions and ornaments. 

"I have beer, wine, tea, coffee, water, maybe soda. What would you like?" She asked me, already moving into the kitchen. 

"Beer, please." I respond, awkwardly hovering in the entrance to the kitchen. She smiled and handed me a bottle while carrying one herself then led us through to the living room where we sat on the sofa. I took a good swig of the beer then sighed at the refreshing but sharp taste. 

"So, what brings you to Japan?" She asked, turning herself to face me.

"I'm doing my PhD," I responded, mimicking her posture and taking a moment to remember the phrases I had taught myself. "I'm studying Japanese theatre and was given the opportunity to study my PhD here."

"Oh cool! So how long will you be here for?" 

"If everything goes well, three years. What do you do, Yasumura-san?" 

"Call me Mei. I work at Hitachiin Fashions, I've just started working on my own line. It's really exciting."

"Congratulations!" 

"Thank you. Oh, are you single?" 

"Yes, I recently broke up with my boyfriend." A lump formed in my throat at the memory of Nick.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, I think it was meant to be this way. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I know these guys ..." Mei trailed off the end of her sentence as she looked at a photo on the wall opposite us. Seven boys were huddled with Mei and another girl at, what looked to be, an amusement park. Mei had her arms wrapped around the other girl who had a bob of silky dark brown hair, Mei's other arm was thrown around a surly looking red-haired man whose cheeks were stained a soft pink. On the side next to the red-head stood a tall, muscular man with black hair and a small smile, holding a blond haired boy on his back who looked more excited than I thought humanly possible. On the side of the girl with the bob stood two men of similar heights, a blond who was snuggled into the girl and a man with black hair and glasses that seemed rather nonplussed about the whole thing. To finish off the picture, two men with bright orange hair and sharp faces crooned in on either side of Mei's face, they were so similar I automatically assumed that they were twins. 

"You all seem close." I offered as Mei appeared to have journeyed into her own little world. 

"Yeah," she responded with an awkward chuckle before turning back to me with her amused smirk that I had a feeling would become a regular expression. "They're pretty awesome. Some of them are taken though unfortunately."

"Is the one next to you your boyfriend?" I asked, her easy manner was really winning me over.

"Yeah. Isn't he cute?" 

"Very. I love how you can see him blushing a little." I laughed, feeling a little part of the old me slipping back into place.

"Yeah, he likes to think he's the tough guy but he's such a softie." We both chuckled at this and my heart soared as I realised that this could be the start of a great friendship. 


	2. Meeting The Host Club

_We're here._

I read the text with a chuckle. It was so sweet of Mei wanting to come to see my show. She was bringing her boyfriend Kasanoda Ritsu, who regularly tagged along on our shopping and movie trips. It was crazy to think that I only met Mei five months ago; we now spent most of the week together having dinner or occasionally going out.

"Brown-senpai, the audience are in." I turned to face the petit undergraduate who had spoken. I smiled and dipped my head in reply to her before shaking out my hands to rid myself of some of my excess energy.

"Ready?" I asked, turning to the other performer. Nanako widened her dark brown eyes slightly and then closed them in a deep exhale before smiling slightly and nodding her confirmation.

                                                     ***

"Good job, Nanako. That went better than I could have hoped." I grinned at my partner, squeezing her into a hug which she returned. The adrenaline running through her system made her hug me harder and giggle.

"That was amazing," Nanako responded. "you were amazing! Well, you're always amazing but the energy tonight was-" I waited for Nanako to finish her sentence with a knowing smile but she just sighed with a grin.

"I agree," knowing exactly what she meant. "I can't wait to hear the feedback from Kanoya-sensei. He seemed a bit worried about how we were amalgamating styles but had a lot of positive notes after our first performance."

"That's true. I need to speak with Kanoya-sensei next week about the report and how he wants us to approach the evaluation. I've never done a performance evaluation before." Nanako replied with a roll of her eyes as she changed out of her costume.

"Well, let me know if you need help, I've done a lot of them."

"Oh yeah, you did something similar for your Master's degree didn't you?"

I nodded and smiled at her. Nanako was doing this project for her Master's whereas I was working towards my PhD. I was so grateful that she had wanted to do this project, otherwise I probably wouldn't have been invited to join her for my doctorate.

"Right, I'm done. I'll see you next week. I'm meeting my parents outside so I won't hang around." Nanako informed me as she rushed out the door of the dressing room.

"Have fun." I shouted after her but she was already gone. I chuckled to myself, that girl was always in a rush. I shrugged my bag onto my shoulder and walked towards the foyer. Before I could even begin to search for Mei, she ran up to me and threw her arms around my neck, making me take a step back to keep my balance. I laughed into her neck and wrapped my arms around her too. She pulled away and grinned at me while stepping back to grab Ritsu's hand.

"You were so good! It was even better than the last one! I can't believe how good you were. I even cried. So did Ritsu!" Mei gushed, shooting her eyes at Ritsu then back at me.

"Thank you, Mei," I chuckled then smiled at Ritsu. "What did you think, Ritsu?"

"It was really good," he replied with a slight smile, "but I didn't cry." Mei rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's attempt to be macho even though he had a deep blush on his cheeks.

A short brunette girl walked up behind Mei with an exasperated look on her pretty face.

"Mei, you can't just walk off like that and leave me alone with them when you got them all excited." The girl growled. She didn't look old enough to have a child to tell off but by the tone of her voice, I could tell she was practised at it. Although I was impressed with her chastising, it had no effect on her desired target who just rolled her eyes and muttered a half-arsed apology.

"Haruhi," Mei chimed after apologising. "This is my friend that was in the show, Brown Hannah." The girl, Haruhi, turned to me, her large brown eyes going slightly wider.

"You must be Fujioka-san. It's a pleasure to meet you. Mei has told me a lot about you." I say with my usual warm smile. I give her a bow, knowing that she was older than me and very successful. She bowed back, almost instinctively, bowing an equal depth to myself.

"I'm sorry, I didn't recognise you. You were brilliant. I mean, I don't really like theatre usually, but that was really good. Mei says you wrote that piece as well?"

"Yes, I did." I chuckle in response, flattered. "Thank you very much, that's very kind of you. I'm really glad you enjoyed it. I'm always interested to hear what people think, as it is for my studies, so please feel free to share any criticisms."

Haruhi shook her head vigorously, making some of her chin-length hair fly into her face. "I can't think of anything that was wrong with it. I think we all liked it." She insisted, looking over her shoulder for confirmation. "Oh no, where are they?" She mumbled upon realising that no one was with her. I raised an eyebrow at Mei who just rolled her eyes back at me.

"Haruhi," a sing-song voice shouted from behind me. I spun around to find a group of men leaving the dressing room I'd just come from, or at least closing the door to it. My confusion grew as the blond man at the front of the group ran past me and to Haruhi, circling his arms around her head and nuzzling it like a cat. Haruhi looked at me as if wishing for death, making me presume this must be the husband that Mei had mentioned. On the outside, I just smiled sympathetically at Haruhi but on the inside I was crying with laughter, storing the image in my mind to revisit later with Mei who was freely sniggering at her friend.

"Brown-san?" queried a voice behind me. I turned to find one of the men from the group a few steps behind me. This one was the same height as Haruhi's husband but where he was light, the one in front of me was dark with black hair, glasses that obscured his eyes and a slightly chilling aura. I suppressed a shiver, nodding and smiling at him in confirmation.

"Ootori Kyoya," he supplied, extending his has. I sighed in relief at his use of western culture, I had a feeling this man should not be offended and I knew nothing about him. I firmly shook his hand, speaking the usual pleasantries.

"I was interested to find that you aren't a professional actress," he explained in English which I was also happy to speak in. "Yasumura-san informed me that you are doing this project as part of your studies, hence why you created the performance."

"Yes, as it's for my PhD I am doing a lot of work for the piece. This was only one of several that my partner, Hasegawa Nanako, and myself will be involved in." I informed Ootori, reverting to my well-rehearsed speech that seemed humble but showcased my capabilities. It had the desired effect as I saw his eyebrow raise slightly as he nodded.

He opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by two men, twins I assumed, who appeared next to us.

"So that was you?" They asked in unison, cocking their heads to the side.

"In the show just now? Yes." I responded with a polite smile.

"It was good," said the twin on the left with the lighter auburn hair.

"For an amateur production." Said the twin on the right with the darker brown hair.

"Thank you." I replied, still smiling politely at their not so veiled insult.

"These are the Hitachiin twins, Hikaru and Kaoru." Supplied Ootori. I nodded at him gratefully then again smiled at the twins who had already walked away, bored.

"So, you're Hannah-chan? It's really nice to meet you. You're a very good actress! We don't really go to the theatre very often so I'm really pleased that we did see your show." Said the smallest of the men, his large brown eyes sparkling in excitement as he grinned widely at me.

"Thank you, that's very sweet of you." I smiled back, flattered again.

"This is Haninozuka Mitsukuni." Supplied Ootori again. Again I nodded at him gratefully before turning back to smile at the person he had just introduced. Luckily the short blond was still there.

"Nice to meet you, Haninozuka-san. I'm very glad you enjoyed my show." I gave a bow similar to the one I gave Haruhi which made him giggle before echoing my bow only slightly shallower.

"This is Morinozuka Takashi." Ootori said gesturing to the tall man stood to the side of Haninozuka. I smiled and met his dark grey eyes.  _Well,_  I thought to myself as my stomach did a slight jump in appreciation.

"Nice to meet you Morinozuka-san. I hope you also enjoyed my show." I bowed again and he followed but to the same depth as me making my brow raise. Rising, I met his eyes again and he gave me a nod and half smile in response, to which I replied with a shift of my own smile.

"Hannah-chan," my attention shifted back to the blond. "Will you be doing another show soon?"

"Possibly, it depends on what the best next step is for my thesis." I replied.

"I know," Haninozuka exclaimed reaching into his coat pocket and producing a small piece of card. "You can take my details and let me know if you're performing again. I'd be sad if I missed it. We don't really speak to Mei-chan enough to make sure we know when it would be so you can let me know, right?"

"Of course," I replied, taking the offered business card and quickly scanning it. "That's very lovely of you to want to support my work. Thank you." I bowed again feeling extremely flattered.

"So you've met everyone then?" Mei said, throwing her long, slender arm over my shoulders.

"Everyone?" I asked her with a concerned look.

"This is the host club." Mei responded with a sweep of her free arm and a smirk on her lips.

"And I am the prince of the host club, Suoh Tamaki. It is a pleasure to meet you." The blond that I had labelled as Haruhi’s husband declared, grabbing my hand in his own and laying his lips to it.


	3. Please get off me

"What on earth is a Host club?" I gaped at Mei as I yanked my hand away from the blond in front of me.

"Do you not have them in the UK?" She asked with her signature somewhat amused smirk. I glared at her in response, I was getting sick of that smirk.

"A host club is where attractive young men with too much time on their hands entertain young women who also have too much time on their hands." The blond "prince" proclaimed, wrapping his arm around me and gesturing wildly as if I could also see the fantastical film he could. I shot a concerned, wide-eyed look at Mei who was enjoying this far too much. I looked to Ootori who seemed to be the practical one in this group.

"It was something we did in High School. It's not as bad as he makes it sound." He explained, with a glare at Suoh, now talking in Japanese. I gave him a disbelieving smirk.

"Well it sounds lovely," I said sarcastically as I attempted to pry myself away from the blond's grasp.

"It is lovely," he insisted. "We made them very happy. We still do!"

"I'm sure Haruhi is thrilled," I muttered in English still shoving at him with no success. "Fujioka-san, please tell your husband to get off me." I pleaded at her in Japanese but she was laughing too much to do anything but wave her hands in apology. I looked around desperately to find that everyone was laughing except Morinozuka who was frowning at me. I rolled my eyes in aggravation turning to Suoh. "Please, get off me." I begged him, my eyes wide in panic.

Instead of having my desired effect, his eyes began to sparkle as he shrieked "so cute!" and began to nuzzle my head as he had done to Haruhi earlier. My eyes grew wide and my hands began to tense but before I could really lose my temper I was ripped from Suoh's grasp. He turned to me like a petulant child as impressively strong arms held me about a foot above the ground.

"Oh my god, put me down!" I cried, my breathing starting to become heavy. My feet instantly touched the ground and I took a deep breath to calm myself. Suoh began to run at me again with open arms so I put my hand out to stop him, however, he just ran face first into it. I drew my arm back in pain making him face plant the floor. I stared at him in utter confusion.  _What on earth?_  I thought to myself, shaking my head.

I turned to see who my saviour had been. "Morinozuka-san, thank you. I'm sorry I yelled." I said with a small bow. I looked up and he smiled at me slightly and patted my head.  _Well, that's a new one,_  I thought.

"Do you not like being picked up, Hannah-chan?" Haninozuka asked looking up at me with a tilt of his head.

"No. I don't know why. Just one of those things, I guess." I shrugged with a chuckle. I took a second to study him finding him very childlike, however, his eyes held a keen knowledge that betrayed his age.

"I guess it was a bit rude of Mori to just pick you up." Said the twin on the right.

"Yeah, Mori. You should be more careful." The twin on the left continued both sticking out their hands in a thumbs down gesture.

"Oh no, honestly, I really appreciate what you did." I insisted turning back to Morinozuka who had dropped his head. "It's not your fault." I continued, softly touching his arm and ducking my head to catch his eye. He lifted his head slowly and I smiled at him warmly. He gave a soft smile in reply and nodded.

"Hannah-san?" called a familiar voice behind me. I turned to see my professor and excused myself from the group.

After arranging to meet my tutor next week, I turned back to see the group arguing, well, by group I mean Suoh was yelling at everyone. I narrowed my eyes in frustration at the collection of strange people. I had been in Japan long enough to know that these men were unusual, even in Japan. From what Mei had told me I knew that they were all very well-off and came from highly respected families but they were nothing like what I had expected. The rich people I had met in the past had been nothing like this, although I hadn't met many, they had either been completely unexceptional or complete assholes.  _That's true for everyone I guess,_  I chuckled to myself.

"Hannah-chan," Haninozuka called me out of my thoughts. "You'll come, won't you?" I suppressed a snigger at the double meaning and rolled my eyes at myself.

"Come where?"

"To the party!" Haninozuka rocked onto the balls of his feet at this.

"What party?" I asked, still confused but charmed by his actions.

"Ritsu and I had organised a little get together for us all," Mei glanced at Ritsu at this with a secretive grin. I narrowed my eyes at that, just what was she planning. "We were going to invite you anyway so I just told the guys about it and Tamaki freaked out."

"Do you not want me to attend, Suoh-san?" I asked him; if he didn't want me there, then I was more than happy to not go, my tutor had just informed me of a deadline so I could be getting on with work.

"No, that's not it, it's the opposite. Honestly!" Suoh responded, his arms reaching out towards me. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Tamaki wants to introduce you to the world so he was arguing that several other people should be invited to the party to meet you." Ootori informed me with an exasperated sigh. I gave Mei an incredulous look and she gave me her annoying smirk.

"Well, that's very sweet of you, Suoh-san, however, I doubt that Mei and Ritsu would like their party being overthrown." I turned to Suoh and gave him the smile I used on my niece and nephew when they were arguing.

"Oh, of course. I'm sorry for suggesting it, Mei and Ritsu. We should organise another party!" Suoh proclaimed, pointing a finger into the air.

"When is your party?" I asked Mei to distract her from killing Suoh.

"Next weekend, Saturday. It's just a garden party, we'll have some food and drinks. Everyone's staying over." Mei informed me, again glancing at Ritsu.

"Sounds wonderful."


	4. The Garden Party

"So you are coming this weekend, right? I've received about five texts every day from Tamaki. It's driving me crazy. I don't think he's met someone new in a while." Mei asked from next to me on my sofa while I typed away on my laptop.

"I need to get 3000 words done before then and I'll be able to. I'm on 1583 now so as soon as you shut up I can finish." I grumbled, I hated being interrupted when I was in the middle of a flow. Mei glared at me and pinched my arm lightly. I gave her the finger while I finished my paragraph.

"See, you shut up and I got to over 2000. Don't worry, I'll be there this weekend. I'll be surprised if I don't get this finished tonight. Besides, I really need to relax so I plan on getting us drunk." I winked at my friend after saving my work and placing my laptop down. I knew that Mei wouldn't leave until I gave her my full attention for a little while.

"I won't be drinking this weekend," she said with a soft chuckle.

"Why? Are you pregnant?" I asked, half joking but half serious; I'd been thinking since I saw the way she looked at Ritsu. She turned and gaped at me and slightly nodded her head. I shrieked in excitement and threw my arms around her neck.

"I'm so happy for you! When did you find out? That's so exciting! Are you getting married before the baby's born? Have you told your families yet? Oh, I'm so happy for you!" I blabbered, my grin stretching from ear to ear. I leant back to look into her face to find a watery smile plastered across it.

"I was so worried you wouldn't be happy."

"Why would I not be happy for you? You told me the other week that you wanted this."

"Well, since then, when you told me that you thought you and Nick were going to get married and, you know, have a family. I thought you'd be really upset about it. You were so sad when you spoke about it."

I froze at her words. She was right, Nick, the man I had planned to spend my life with, had promised me everything. "Mei, I was sad because," I paused searching for the right words. "because the life that I had wanted and expected was not available anymore. I'm still mourning the life that I lost but I also love this life, Mei. If Nick and I hadn't separated, then I would never have met you and certainly wouldn't be doing my PhD in Japan. And, even though I'm sad over losing that life, I could not be happier for you and Ritsu! I do not and could not ever resent you for what you have, or will have. You're my friend and I love you. I want you to be happy."

Mei burst into tears at this and crushed me in a hug. I patted her back and let her cry on my shoulder, understanding completely how tense she had been about my reaction. I waited for her to calm down then informed her that she hadn't answered my questions yet. She chuckled and leant back, wiping her eyes.

"We found out a month ago. Well, we went to the doctor for the first scan a month ago. I'm two months along now." She said with a grin.

"Wow!"

"Yeah. We are going to get married, Ritsu proposed to me a couple of weeks before we found out. We just haven't decided if get married before the baby is born or after. He wants before but I want after." I nodded my head at this, of course Mei would want to wait until after, she wouldn't want to be pregnant in a wedding dress. I could also see where Ritsu was coming from though. "If you wait until after then you'll more than likely have to take the baby on honeymoon with you or have to wait for the baby to be old enough to be away from you for a few weeks. But then again, you can't fly in the last three months so it would have to be sooner rather than later."

"You make some good points. I hate the idea of waiting for months planning the wedding as well. I know I'll go crazy."

"Well, why don't you have a quick wedding and get married in the next couple of months. It's October now so you could get married in December, you more than likely won't be showing then and there won't be any issues with flying. Two months is plenty of time to plan!" I assured Mei, every word making her eyes sparkle just a little more.

"That sounds perfect! We could get married in the snow! How romantic?" She exclaimed with a similar look in her eyes to Suoh's when explaining the idea of a host club. "I need to go and speak to Ritsu!" She shouted as she ran from my flat, slamming my door as she left.

I laughed in excitement for my friend. I love weddings and my heart began to flutter as I thought about Mei and Ritsu taking that step. I picked up my laptop again and, ignoring the fact that I still had work to do, began to collect ideas to help Mei.

                                                          * * *

"Hannah-chan!" Shouted a bright but bashful Ritsu. He walked up beside the car he had sent to collect me and took my bag out of the bag before I could.

"Thank you," I said and then hugged him in greeting. I pulled away to see no blush which was nice, he was clearly warming up to me. "Where's Mei?" I asked him as we made our way to the house.

"Inside. Haruhi and Suoh arrived early." Ritsu replied.

"Ah, will I be alright to put my stuff in my room before saying hello?"

"Of course, Mei took them outside already."

I smiled in response and followed him to my allocated room.

"Oh, this is lovely!" I commented on the bedroom. It had a minimalist feel to it with white walls and dark wood furniture but with splashes of colour from cushions and decorations.

"Yeah, the whole house is like it. Mei says it's Western-Japanese. I just shrug and hope she doesn't ask for my opinion."

I laughed in response to Ritsu then thank him, put my bag down and follow him back downstairs. I hear laughter coming from an open door, leading to grass and flowers.

"Do you want to put that in the fridge?" Ritsu asked gesturing to the diet coke I was carrying.

"Oh, yes, please."

"Go on out, I'll put it away." He offered, taking the bottle.

"Thank you, Ritsu." I left through the open door to find a stone path leading through a lush, green garden emphasised by pockets of well-organised, bright flowers.

"Hannah!" I turn to see Mei waving at me from around the corner of the house. I follow the path along to meet her. She leads me to where Haruhi and Suoh are sat in cushioned garden chairs that are painted white and are set in a large circle filled with identical chairs. I notice that they have taken one of the two love seats and smile softly when I look up to their faces to see their eyes and hands locked as they smile at each other, in their own little world. Mei rolls her eyes at me and sits me in the other love seat next to her.

"We really like your idea," she whispers to me quickly glancing at the other couple to make sure they were still distracted. "You have experience with wedding planning, don't you? Can you help us, please? Ritsu won't let me, which is probably for the best and both of us agree that he isn't going to do it."

"Mei, that's so sweet but I haven't actually planned one before. I've helped but haven't done the entire thing. Maybe you'd be better hiring someone, I'd hate to mess it up for you." I replied, kicking myself for not jumping at this opportunity.

"No, we talked about it and we don't want someone who doesn't know anything about us. We want someone who actually cares about us and knows what we'll like. We both trust you to do this!"

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, please say yes!"

"Okay, I'll plan it. I may need help though still."

"That's fine, you let us know what you need." She grinned at me and I grinned back, my heart filling with love and my eyes filling with tears of joy and gratitude.

"Do you want a drink by the way? I got you something special." Mei asked and I nodded in reply. She got up and rushed back inside the house leaving me alone with the still distracted couple. I smiled again when I looked at them. I thought about Nick and I as I felt I should in this moment; we never really had moments like that, where we would just stare into each other's eyes and block out the world around us. Even as I thought that though, I was reminded of moments where I felt we were meant to be together. We would often say exactly the same thing at exactly the same time, we would do something stupid and cry with laughter together. It had been a happy, solid relationship. Nothing had really gone wrong, it was more that it was no longer right. There was no longer that feeling of utter joy when we hugged or belonging when we laughed together. We no longer reached for each other's hands or felt the need to discuss our possible future together. At that point, we both knew we were no longer meant to be together. It had been a mutual agreement, Nick one day commenting on it and myself then agreeing. Three hours later, our future had been taken away but a new one began as we agreed to stay friends. So far, we had been amicable but had not fallen into the friendship that I had hoped for, after all, how do you get rid of the need for your best friend of four years?

"Hannah-chan!" I turned toward the house to see who shouted for me. Haninozuka came skipping along the path with Morinozuka trailing behind him with drinks in each hand.

"Good afternoon, Haninozuka-san. It's nice to see you again." I responded. "Morinozuka -san" I said with a nod to the tall man. He nodded in reply.

"Hannah-chan, I really wanted you to meet my wife, Reiko, but she had to visit family this weekend. You'll really like her though, right Takashi?" The tall man nodded and handed me the bottle that he carried in one hand. I took it with a confused look.

"Oh, Mei-chan told us to give that to you." Haninozuka informed me.

"Oh, thank you." I said looking at the bottle. She'd got me pear cider. _God, I love that girl,_ I thought with a smirk and a grateful swig.

"What is it, Hannah-chan?" Haninozuka asked, climbing into Mei's abandoned seat. I turned to face him in his seat and tucked my leg up under me to be more comfortable.

"It's pear cider. Would you like to try some?"

"Is it sweet?"

"Yes." I offered him the bottle again and he took it. He frowned after tasting it and then smiled as if he had decided.

"It's tasty. I don't like how fizzy it is though." He handed me back my drink.

"Morinozuka-san?" I offered him a taste when I noticed he was staring. He frowned slightly at the bottle and then at me before nodding and taking it. He handed it back to me after taking a very masculine swig.

"Well?" I asked him, a smirk like Mei's on my lips.

"It's good." He replied with a responding smirk. _Oh dear God,_ I thought as the combination of his deep voice and cocky smirk making my stomach do a flip.

"Hannah-chan," I turned back to Haninozuka. "would you like to meet my wife?"

"If she's as lovely as you, then of course." I replied flashing him a cheeky smile at which he giggled.

"You could come to my house for dinner. I think Reiko would like that. She doesn't have many female friends."

"Does she not get along with Mei and Haruhi?" I asked, if they didn't like her then this was going to be an issue.

"Mei hasn't met her yet and Haruhi doesn't really know her. Reiko can be very shy so she struggles to talk to people in big groups."

"Oh, I see," I replied, relief flooding through me. "I would love to meet her!"

"Yay! Takashi, you can come round too!" Morinozuka nodded at this, a slight smile on his lips.

"Brown-san." I turned to face the house again and see Ootori with a polite smile nodding at me in greeting.

"Good afternoon, Ootori-san. It's nice to see you again." I smiled. He was less intimidating today as I had spent a bit of time thinking about the group dynamics so I understood his role better, or at least what I thought his role to be. Behind him were the twins who I greeted and gave me a somewhat withering look that made me chuckle. They had nothing on Ootori's haughtiness and intimidating presence. I watched them and saw Haruhi smiling at me so I waved back in greeting.

"Hannah-chan, when did you get here?" Suoh asked, completely amazed and I just rolled my eyes in response.


	5. The Announcement

After about ten minutes, everyone was sat with drinks in hand and Mei and Ritsu stood in front of the two-seater garden chair hand in hand.

"So, Ritsu and I have something to tell you all," the party went silent with a curious look at the couple. Mei continued, "We're getting married!" She thrust her left hand out at this, wiggling her fingers to show off the ring. Everyone cheered at this but was quickly silenced when Mei gave them a look that indicated she wasn't finished. "I'm also pregnant." At this everyone but Ootori, Morinozuka and myself froze. Mei shot Ritsu a nervous look as she saw everyone gaping at them. I stood and went over to congratulate the couple, throwing my arms around them both and forcing them to jump up and down with me in excitement. I released them and saw Ootori and Morinozuka stood behind me waiting to also congratulate them. Ootori just shook their hands and politely offered his assistance with the wedding and baby.

"Actually, Ootori," Ritsu said. "Hannah-chan will be planning the wedding but she'll probably need help actually getting things as she doesn't know the area or what's good. We'd really appreciate it if you could help her with that. We're planning on the wedding being in December, so we won't need you for long." Ritsu rubbed the back of his anxiously with his free hand and gave Ootori an almost begging look. He knew as well as I did the fit that Mei would throw if the wedding wasn't perfect and he didn't want me to be solely in the firing line.

Ootori looked at me and gave me an assessing once over before turning back to the happy couple and agreeing with a tight smile. _Oh no,_ I thought, recognising his obvious displeasure at the thought. I automatically straightened my spine, my professional mask slipping into place when he turned back toward me.

"Have you had any ideas?" He asked attempting but failing to hide his aggravation.

"Yes, I have. Mei informed me a week ago about the wedding, in fact it was my suggestion to have the wedding in December considering the due date of the baby. Mei very much likes the idea of getting married in the snow so that must be considered when looking at venues, however you will more than likely know better than I where would be the best. I do really appreciate your help with this." I said with a polite smile. Ootori nodded and then reached into his pocket, pulling out a business card before walking away. I rolled my eyes at his behaviour then went back to my seat. Everyone at this point had snapped out of their shock and was up and hugging the happy couple.

"When is the baby due?" Haruhi asked a slight flush on her cheeks as she grinned widely at Mei. She was clearly very happy for them.

"May 29th. I'm so excited and Ritsu started knitting blankets and hats for the baby." At this Ritsu blushed profusely as the twins sniggered.

"Well, I'm surprised you guys are the first of us to have a baby," the twin on the left said.

"Yeah, always thought it'd be boss and Haruhi." Said the other. _I should really learn their names,_ I thought to myself. I noticed Tamaki and Haruhi blushing after looking at each other. I looked to Mei, who had also noticed, she winked at me and I nodded back.

"Yeah, how come you guys haven't had a baby yet? You've been married for five years now." Mei said with her signature smirk. Haruhi rolled her eyes at her friend in an attempt to hide her blush. Tamaki however began to sputter, "Well, we've been busy and, well, we have been working on the house, and, you know, there are ... things ..." he trailed off realising everyone was staring at him.

"Well, Honey and Reiko haven't had a baby yet!" Haruhi shouted in panic, pointing at the short blond sat next to me.

"Yeah, but he's Honey." The twins answered in unison with a shrug.

"Why haven't you and Reiko had children yet, Honey?" Ootori asked, apparently not as willing to let it slide as the twins. At this Haninozuka sent a panicked look to Morinozuka who looked away in guilt.

"Well," Haninozuka started still staring at Morinozuka. "Our families always have children at the same time."

"Oh," I nodded. Mei had explained a little about their relationship; that they were cousins who were almost exactly the same age and that their families had a historic bond. Hearing me, Morinozuka looked at me with a curious gaze.

"You get it? Can you explain to us?" Mei asked with a sigh as she sat down with Ritsu, annoyed that the attention wasn't on her anymore.

"You said that their families had a special bond and that Morinozuka-san isn't with anyone at the moment. I assume that Haninozuka-san and his wife are waiting to have children so they can be a similar age to Morinozuka-san's. Is that right?" I explained, looking between the two for confirmation.

"Wow! You're clever, Hannah-chan." Haninozuka said with a vigorous nod, making me chuckle.

"Not really," I responded. "However, I think that maybe you shouldn't wait, Haninozuka-san. These things have a way of working themselves out and it's clear that Morinozuka-san feels that he is to blame for you and your wife not at least trying. Although, obviously, I don't fully understand the situation and that's just my opinion." I gave Haninozuka a tentative smile, worrying that I'd over-stepped my boundaries. I didn't know why I'd said that, it just kind of spilled out at the hope I'd seen merged with the worry and curiosity in Morinozuka's eyes. I didn't dare to look at him again to see his response.

"You make a very good point, Hannah." Ootori said, surprising me that he'd agreed with me, and seemed to be sincere in his agreement, and that he'd used my first name. Clearly he was changing his opinion of me. I smiled at him slightly grateful and relieved that someone had said something.

"I'm so sorry, Takashi," Haninozuka cried, leaping at Morinozuka and sniffling. Morinozuka hugged him and patted him on the back with a soft smile.

"Well, that explains why Honey hasn't," said one of the twins.

"So now you two need to explain," said the other.

At this, we all looked back at Haruhi and Suoh who had stopped blushing now and had clearly lost all of the blood in their faces. I automatically felt very sorry for Haruhi, Suoh not so much, and decided to help her out.

"Mei, I need a new drink. Will you help me?" She nodded at me in response, knowing what I was doing. "Haruhi, would you like one too?" Haruhi also nodded at this and shot up to join us as we made our way to the kitchen. Once there, Haruhi breathed a sigh of relief and thanked me.

"It's okay," I chuckled. "Is everything okay? Or are you just worried about their reactions?"

"No, I'm used to their reactions by now." She snorted in reply.

"So, something's wrong?" Mei said, more of a statement than a question. Haruhi looked down at this.

"If something is wrong, it is always best to talk to the people who love you so that they can support you through it." I said putting my hand on Haruhi's arm. "I can leave you two alone to talk if you want?"

"Well, you may actually know something to help." She replied giving me a soft smile. "Tamaki and I have been trying for a few years now and I've got pregnant twice ..."

Mei and I looked at each other, both of us knowing what she was going to say next. Mei's eyes went wide and she froze. I leant in and gave Haruhi a hug; I couldn't even imagine the pain of a miscarriage, let alone two. Haruhi wrapped her arms around me in return and let out a soft hiccup of a sob.

"Lots of people go through this Haruhi, it is a common thing." I assured her as her sobs became more prominent. "Have you been to see a doctor?" I asked as I pulled away and reached for the kitchen roll to give to her. She shook her head as she wiped her eyes.

"Why not?" Mei exclaimed, seemingly to have been revived. I gave her a slight frown.

"Well, Tamaki wanted me to but I was too afraid. He would be heartbroken if it turns out that I can't have children. He wants one so badly!" Her eyes became wet again and she clutched the kitchen roll in her hand tighter.

"I think he would understand, Haruhi."

"Of course he would! It's not like you can help it! Besides, you need to go to the doctor to make sure that something bad hasn't happened! You're probably making it worse by not going! What is wrong with you?" Mei shouted grabbing Haruhi by the shoulders, her panic over her friend's health overpowering her. I was about to have a go at Mei for being so harsh when I saw that this had actually had the desired effect on Haruhi. No wonder these two were so close. 

"You're right, Mei. I'll speak to him about it later and call the doctor on Monday." Haruhi sighed, dropping her head. Mei smiled in satisfaction at getting Haruhi to agree with her.

"We should probably get drinks before they come in investigating." Haruhi said looking up at us both with a soft, grateful smile. We nodded our agreement then made our way back outside. Mei sat back next to Ritsu telling him to move over, Haruhi sat next to Suoh again who was being poked by the twins and I went to sit back with Haninozuka but found my seat taken by Ootori. I shrugged and made my way to a three-seater where Morinozuka sat. I smiled at him, then sat on the other side of the sofa which placed me on the side of Haruhi who was now arguing with the twins.

I pulled out my phone, hoping to distract myself, but realised I had no signal so put it back in my pocket with a sigh. _This is awkward,_ I thought as I looked around and drank my drink, now whiskey and diet coke. I looked at Mei and Ritsu on the other side of the circle from me who were in deep conversation, then to Ootori and Haninozuka who were chatting casually but on the other side of Morinozuka who, like me, was sat looking around the circle. _I really want to talk to him,_ I thought with a flutter of my stomach. _I know, I'll ask him about his drink_.

"What are you drinking, Morinozuka-san?" I asked leaning towards him slightly with a smile. He turned to me with wide eyes as if I'd made him jump. 

"Nothing." He said after a pause.

"Oh, any reason why not?" He shook his head in response. "Would you like one?" He nodded. "There's more of that cider, if you want a bottle?"

"Are you not having that?" He asked with a frown.

"I love it but I don't fancy too much of it today." I informed him with a smile. The first bottle had already made me a little bloated and I didn't want to risk too much more when I was wearing a somewhat clingy dress. "Or you can have some of this if you want, it's whiskey and coke." I said offering him my glass. He took it with a grateful nod, quickly glancing into my eyes and making me shiver slightly. His eyes reminded me of the sky before a fierce storm, a dark grey with streaks of black and an almost silver colour.

"Could I have more of that?" He asked, handing me back my glass. I nodded with a smile and went to make him a glass.

I reached the kitchen and leant against the counter taking deep breaths. It had been such a long time since I'd felt this. Since Nick and I got together when I was 19 this overpowering feeling of excitement and anxiety had completely faded away. I'd always thought that with Nick it hadn't been explosions and fireworks but it had felt like I could breathe again. This was completely different, it felt like the first guy I had a huge crush on, it felt like it did when he had looked at me. I shook my hands out to rid myself of excess tension, like I did before going on-stage, and then turned to continue with my original task only to find the man I'd been thinking about behind me.

"Oh my god," I gasped in surprise. It was hard for people to make me jump so this was a real surprise for me. "You scared me." I said with a laugh after a short pause to catch my breath.

"Sorry," he said with a sheepish smile.

"It's okay," I laughed. "Is everything alright? I was going to bring the drink out to you. Don't worry, I won't poison it." _Why did I say that? That sounded way more cool in my head but now it sounds like I was actually going to poison him,_ I thought to myself with cringe. A grin flashed across his face and I sighed softly in relief before smiling back.

"I was curious," he replied as if that answered everything.

"Ah," I said, trying not to laugh. To hide my smile, I turned to the kitchen counter where a spread of glasses and drinks sat. I picked up a glass and took the whiskey that I had used in my drink from the selection. Morinozuka moved up to my right to watch over my shoulder. I poured he whiskey in until it filled about an inch of the glass then went to the fridge for the coke. When I got back Morinozuka was frowning at the glass. He looked up at me and met my eyes still frowning.

"What's wrong?" I asked when he didn't say anything but just continued to shift his gaze between myself and the glass.

"How did you know how much?" He finally said.

"Oh, I worked as a bartender for a long time. Plus, my family are alcoholics, so I learned from a young age." I laughed when I said the second half and quickly looked to him, worried that he wouldn't have realised I was joking but he flashed me the same grin as earlier, this time with a slight 'hmm' of approval making my stomach flip.

"I usually go by the rule that this makes it a double measure." I said as I filled the rest of the glass with the diet coke. "I also prefer diet coke to regular as it means you can still really taste the alcohol without it being too much and the caffeine in it makes the alcohol act faster." I knew I was rambling at this point as my inner voice was screaming at me to stop talking but Morinozuka was nodding his head and watching me as if he actually cared.

"Well, there you go, Morinozuka-san." I said with a gesture to the drink. Anyone would have thought I'd have just made him a Manhattan with the way he had focused.

"Takashi," he said staring straight at me.

"Sorry?" I asked, not quite sure what he meant.

"Call me Takashi," he replied. I nodded and repeated his name, feeling like an idiot. He smiled then picked up his drink and made his way outside leaving me to stare after him in dismay.


	6. Let the Fun Begin

“So, what did this host club actually entail?” I asked the group four drinks into the party and a long chat with Haruhi about, well, everything.

“The same as all Host clubs.” Tamaki, as he had insisted I call him, shrugged in response.

“Well, since I’ve never heard of one I could do with a bit more of an explanation. Especially since it sounds rather shady.” I said with a giggle, Mei and Haruhi laughing with me.

“What do you mean shady?” Tamaki shrieked, apparently alcohol didn’t help that side of his personality.

“Well, I mean, it sounds a bit like an escort service.” I responded making Ootori smirk and the twins burst out laughing. Tamaki just dropped his jaw in disbelief.

“It wasn’t anything like that,” Ootori said after a short pause. “The girls would pick a host and we’d just talk to them, entertain them.” My brow furrowed at his answer. 

“What school allows this to be a club? I don’t see the point in it.”

“Hey, boss. You should show her.” The twins said in unison with a mischievous smirk.

“What a great idea, Tamaki.” Ootori said with a sardonic smile. Oh no, I thought as I looked to Tamaki who seemed excited by their idea. 

“My princess,” Tamaki crooned at me holding out his hand and I fought to hold back a hiccup of laughter. Tamaki looked confused when I didn’t take his hand. “Would you care to dance, my princess?” He asked after a pause.

“There’s no music.” My voice was shaking with the laughter I was trying to hide.

“Ah, my princess, but we only need the music of our love.” He insisted. That was it, I couldn’t keep in my laughter anymore. I was doubled over so didn’t notice that Tamaki had thrown himself into a dark corner. When I lifted up my head, Mei and the twins were crying with laughter, like I was, and Haruhi was just shaking her head with a slight smile.

“Did he use that line on you?” I asked Haruhi wiping the tears from my eyes and checking my make-up hadn’t run.

“No! In fact, it was him using those lines that meant we didn’t get together for so long.” She replied with a roll of her eyes and making me laugh again. 

“So, you all did that?” I asked, I couldn’t imagine any of them acting like that.

“No. We all had separate acts.” Ootori answered me.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, Kyoya was the cool type,” Ootori pushed his glasses up his nose when the twin said this.

“We were the forbidden love type,” the other twin said as they wrapped their arms around each other.

“Honey was the Lolita type,” one said again, the other then following with, “and Mori was the wild type.”

I just stared at the twins for a second, too stunned to be able to say anything. I then cleared my throat and looked at Mei who was still laughing, tears now streaming down her face. Ritsu just looked at the men as if he were really bored of all of this. I looked at Haruhi who had a similar look to Ritsu and I had a thought.

“Wait, wasn’t Haruhi in the club as well?” I asked, Mei had told me this last weekend when we’d spoken about the meeting after my show. 

“Ah, yes, Haruhi was the natural type! She seemed to have a very honest way of speaking with the girls, luckily for her.” Ootori said flashing Haruhi a smirk and she just rolled her eyes at him.

“So how did no one know you were a girl?” 

“I don’t know. I guess because I didn’t really care. It didn’t and still doesn’t really matter to me about my gender.” Haruhi said smiling at me warmly. With that look, I could see why she was the ‘natural type’.

“So you just spoke to the girls? There was no … you know.” 

“Of course not,” Ootori said. “We were and are respectable young men.” I laughed again at this, not believing a word he was saying. 

“So, there were never any situations where it went a little too far?” I asked.

“Well, Haruhi had her first kiss with one of the girls.” The twins said in unison and I gaped at Haruhi who was blushing slightly.

“What? What happened?” 

“We were doing this ball and there was a prize for the best dancer that she’d get a kiss on the cheek from Tamaki. Except, last second, Hikaru and Kaoru decided that I would kiss her but as I went to kiss her on the cheek, Tamaki knocked me and I ended up kissing her on the lips.” At this I gave up on wiping away tears and just let them flow. Tamaki leapt up from his spot in the corner and latched onto Haruhi apologising repeatedly making me laugh even harder.

“I think my favourite was with Honey and Reiko.” One of the twins said with a finger tapping his chin in thought. 

“Your wife?” I asked Honey, as he’d asked me to call him. Honey nodded with a sheepish smile. 

“She said that I’d captured her soul so she wanted to do the same to me.” Honey explained.

“Aww, that’s cute!” I insisted.

“No, it really wasn’t.” One of the twins said.

“It was terrifying.” The other added. “She tried to curse him for over a week and obviously none of it worked.”

“Honey said to her, in the end, that if she wanted someone to fall in love with her then she had to talk to them and share her interests.” Haruhi finished.

“So, you’ve been together since then? She sounds very different from you.” I said shooting Honey a curious look.

“She’s really lovely and she can be super cute!” He replied with a huge grin. She clearly made him happy and that’s what mattered in my opinion.

“I’ll never forget when Renge insisted she was engaged to Kyoya. That was an interesting day.” Haruhi chuckled making the men (excluding Kyoya and Takashi) shudder in revulsion. 

“What was wrong with her?” I asked.

“First of all, she wasn’t actually engaged to me.” Ootori injected crossing his arms over his chest.

“She’s crazy!” The twins insisted in unison.

“Wait, she wasn’t actually engaged to you but she said she was?” Ootori nodded in answer to my question, making me furrow my brow in confusion. 

“She thought I was a character from a video game.” Ootori’s response made my confusion grow.

“Did she not realise the game was fiction?”

“I think it was more that I looked like him so she assumed I had his personality.” Ootori apparently became quite talkative after a few drinks.

“Mei said that you were almost engaged.” Haruhi said, turning the conversation in a direction that I really didn’t want it to go.

“Oh, well, I wouldn’t say that.” I chuckled trying to shrug off the subject.

“Who was he?” Tamaki asked bouncing in his seat in excitement. I looked around the group to find them all waiting for my response except Mei who looked a little sheepish. 

“Erm, well,” I started, I was struggling to think of how to phrase it. “We were together for nearly four years and we were quite serious. We broke up.” I said finally shrugging at the last part and taking a big gulp of my drink.

“What was his name?” Honey asked me, his brown eyes large in his curiosity.

“Nick,” I answered without a thought.

“Why did you break up?” The twins asked in unison. I looked at them for a moment before responding.

“People change,” I responded again with a shrug.

“Hey, why don’t we play a game.” Mei shouted trying to break the tension. Tamaki again became excited and bounced in his seat.

“What game?” He asked repeatedly.

“Hannah told me about this game called ‘spin-the-bottle’.” When Mei said this everyone looked to me in confusion.

“Do you not know it either?” I asked them shocked and they all shook their heads.

“It’s really simple,” I sighed. “Basically, one person spins the bottle and whoever it lands on has to pick truth or dare and then the person who spins the bottle gives them one. The person who picked then spins the bottle and gives the next person a truth or dare.”

“Sounds good.” The twins decreed with a thumbs up each. A few others nodded their heads at the idea.

“Mei, you can start since you suggested it.” I said, handing her my empty bottle from earlier. Mei took the bottle and went to the centre of the circle before spinning it on the floor. It landed on Tamaki who began bouncing in his seat again. 

“Truth or dare?” I asked Tamaki when Mei gave me a confused look. 

“Truth,” Tamaki answered with an eager smile.

“Mei, now you think of something that Tamaki has to answer truthfully.” 

“Okay,” Mei said thoughtfully. “I know! Were you in love with Haruhi from the start?” 

“I think I was.” Tamaki answered with a soft blush and smile at Haruhi who was also blushing. Tamaki then leapt to his feet and spun the bottle which landed on Ootori who visibly sighed. “Dare.” He responded before Tamaki could even take a breath, making him pout.

“Okay, I dare you to be happy for the rest of the night.” Tamaki declared pointing a finger at his friend who just pushed his glasses up his nose and gave Tamaki a dark smile.

“Boss, I don’t think you get it.” One of the twins said as the other shook his head. Before Tamaki could say anything, Ootori had already shoved him out of the way and then spun the bottle. Great, I thought as it landed on me. I looked at Ootori speculatively, I didn’t trust him with a truth but then I didn’t really trust him with a dare. 

“Dare,” I said finally decided that I’d rather look like an idiot than share any secrets with him. He grinned at my answer, however, making my heart rate accelerate in trepidation. The twins looked at one another then shot to their feet on either side of Ootori, whispering in his ears. His grin grew larger and he nodded. Oh dear God no, I thought as the twins went to sit back down.

“Kiss one of us. Not just on the cheek, on the lips.” He said his grin becoming satisfied. I sighed in relief, I thought he was going to get me to strip or something, I thought as I nodded. I then smiled as another thought popped into my head. I knew exactly who I could kiss. I stood and made way to Mei and quickly grabbed her chin and placed my lips against hers. After a few seconds I stepped back with a smug grin as I saw Ootori’s glare. I shooed him back to his seat and spun the bottle, ignoring everyone’s amazement or laughter, the latter mainly coming from Mei and the twins. It landed on Ootori making me laugh out loud at the revenge I would be able to pay. I looked at him with a dark smirk and he growled “Truth”.

“Are you sure you want to pick that?” I asked him with an attempt at looking innocent. His lips pursed for a second and then he changed his answer to dare. My inner demon rubbed its hands in glee that my bluff had worked. 

“Sing us a song.”

“What?” He gaped.

“You heard me. It has to last at least a minute.”

Ootori glared at me for ten full seconds then stood slowly. I reached for my phone and opened the timer in preparation. He took a deep breath then began to sing in a shaky baritone that didn’t surprise me. I had had a feeling he might be a good singer as his voice was so clear and confident. It was a song I had never heard, possibly a famous Japanese song that was relatively fast paced and with happy lyrics. I stopped grinning as he continued the song, I was really impressed that he’d actually done it, and my smile instead turned warm in enjoyment. At exactly one minute, he stopped and glared at me. I nodded my head and then sat down. Most people were now staring at him in amazement, similar to me the round before but I knew that clapping or saying anything would just embarrass him more so I just allowed him to spin the bottle. 

This time it landed on Mei who glared at Ootori in an attempt to intimidate him into being nice to her. She picked truth.

“Did you ever have a crush on any of us?” Mei blushed at this and Ritsu coughed into his hand to cover up a laugh.

“Yes.” Mei admitted begrudgingly, stubbornly refusing to elaborate. Haruhi insisted, being the lawyer she was, that since Ootori had only asked if she had and not who the crush was then she was not obligated to answer which made me snort at Ootori’s aggravation. Mei, relieved at not having to admit who her crush had been, rushed to the bottle and spun it. It landed on Takashi who frowned and then answered dare. I assumed that since he didn’t talk much he hardly wanted to share a secret.

“Okay,” Mei’s eyes flashed dangerously and my stomach dropped. “We’ll all close our eyes and you have to kiss someone. A proper kiss as well, on the lips and it has to last at least ten seconds.” She said with her signature smirk.

“Why do we have to close our eyes?” The twins shouted.

“Because, I said so,” Mei informed them as she sat back in her seat. “Now everyone close your eyes.” She demanded and we all followed her instructions in fear of her retribution. I felt Takashi stand from his seat near me and my breath hitched. He’s not going to kiss you, idiot, I thought to myself trying to calm my nerves. There was a cough in the centre of the circle and we all opened our eyes to see Takashi standing there, his eyes looking at the ground. Told you, my inner voice said as I registered my disappointment. 

“You didn’t do it.” Ootori insisted with a smirk. Takashi glared at him but didn’t say anything.

“You didn’t do it, Takashi?” Honey asked giving Takashi a look that said he felt betrayed by his actions. Myself, I was impressed he’d had the guts to bluff. He couldn’t make eye contact with Honey so everyone knew the answer.

“Right. Again! This time you have to do it and it’s twenty seconds now!” Mei growled, her eyes promising retribution if Takashi didn’t go through with the dare.

I chuckled as I closed my eyes and I was still smiling when I felt lips against my own.


	7. Just Us

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Erm, just a warning: I know this work is categorized as mature so this sort of stuff should sort of be expected, but there is some intense kissing in this scene. Also, this book will dive into more intense stuff (aka. sexy-times). I'll try to put the warnings at the beginnings for those scenes. Would absolutely love any feedback or comments and am appreciating the love <3

“We’re going to bed. Night.” Mei mumbled as she led Ritsu by the hand to the stairs. We’d all moved inside when the sun had gone down and a chill had set in. Haruhi and Tamaki had gone to bed not long after that, followed by the twins who got bored without them around to bother.  We bid the couple good night and carried on our chat about ourselves.

 

“Wasn’t it strange having divorced parents?” Kyoya asked me, his eyes betraying his tiredness.

 

“No. It was strange if someone’s parents were still together when I grew up.” I replied with a shrug. I reached for my drink but pouted when I found it empty. Takashi stood from his seat and held out his hand for my glass. “Aw, thank you.” I smiled up at him from where I was draped on a heavily cushioned chaise-lounge and he “hmm-ed” but I caught the slight grin he tried to hide.

 

“Why would they not stay together?” Honey asked with a look that broke my heart.

 

“Why would they?” I replied. “Surely it’s better for them to not be together if they’re miserable.” Honey looked at me as if I’d bestowed one of the world’s greatest secrets upon him.

 

“Well, I guess when there’s no business involved, there is little reason.” Kyoya grumbled as he lay his head on the arm of the sofa. He was still pouting from his last comment as he began to snore softly.

 

“Wow. Kyo-chan must be really sleepy.” Honey said with his own yawn.

 

“I think you are too.” I said to him with a chuckle. Takashi came back and handed me my now full glass and I thanked him with a smile. He frowned as he caught sight of Kyoya and I just chuckled as I sat up so I wouldn’t spill my drink.

 

“Takashi, I think I’m going to go to bed.” Honey mumbled as he rubbed his eyes. Takashi nodded at him and then ruffled his hair making me smile. “You should take Kyo-chan up to bed.”

 

“Just wake him up.” I said with a shrug.

 

“Kyo-chan can be mean when he wakes up.” Honey said, his tired eyes wide with fear.

 

I rolled my eyes and put my glass down, making my way towards the sleeping Kyoya. I gently called his name and put my hand on his shoulder. When he didn’t wake I called his name a little more forcefully and gave him a slight shake. His eyes shot open with a fierce glare.

 

“Kyoya, you fell asleep downstairs. You should go up to bed, sweetie.” I cooed at him, like I did my niece and nephew, all the while smiling at him.

 

“No,” he growled and rolled over.

 

“Kyoya, if you don’t go, Takashi will have to carry you.” I said softly. At this, Kyoya shot up and stomped up the stairs with Honey following after him with a good night call.

 

“You have an interesting group of friends.” I said to Takashi returning to my seat. I took a sip of my drink tentatively in case it was too strong but gave Takashi a nod of approval at its taste. “Thank you for the drink. If I’d have known everyone was going to bed I wouldn’t have got a new one.”

 

“Sorry.” He mumbled and his head turned away.

 

“It’s not your fault. I’m not tired yet anyway. Feel free to go to bed whenever you need to though. Don’t stay up just for me.” _Why would he stay up for you, idiot?_ I gulped my drink down to silence the thought.

 

“I’m not tired.” He replied with a gentle smile which I returned. The look he gave me made my heart ache and my throat seal around a lump. Again, I drank to silence my thoughts and looked down to stop tears.

 

“I’m sorry about earlier.” I heard Takashi mumble, his voice sending a shocked jolt to my toes. I looked back at him, confused.

 

“Kissing you.” He wouldn’t look me in the eyes, his face similar to when he’d picked me up when we met last week. _He’s like a guilty puppy,_ I thought as I stood to move to the seat next to him, putting my hand gently on his back. He looked up at me in surprise when I sat, his eyes widening slightly when I touched his back.

 

“You don’t need to be sorry for that,” I insisted in a whisper. I hadn’t meant to be so quiet but the hopeful look he gave me sent my mind into a frenzy. His face softened into the gentle smile that had choked me a moment ago.

 

“I don’t?” He asked, his smile becoming mischievous as one corner of his mouth rose slightly. My entire body responded to the subtle shift, a similar smile making its way across my face.

 

“Well, I’m hardly complaining am I?” _I can’t believe you just said that,_ my brain screamed at me but the flirt in me had taken the reins and wasn’t about to stop. Takashi’s chest vibrated under my hand as he gave a soft chuckle. He looked away from me and my heart instantly dropped in disappointment but my breath caught when he turned back to me with a speculative “hmm”. 

 

After a moment his gaze shifted from my eyes and one of his hands moved to grab a lock of my hair. His eyes were intense as he ran the honey ringlet through his fingers. I could feel his body shifting, turning to angle itself toward me and leaning just slightly closer. My hand moved on instinct, gently tracing his hairline along his neck. His hair was so soft and thick but short at the back making me want to run my hands through the hair on top of his head that fell into his face slightly. Takashi’s hand moved to cup my head, his fingers intertwining with my thick curls and sending shivers down my spine. 

Those dark grey eyes focused back on mine and my breath caught again. The heat in them lit a fire within myself that had been asleep for far too long. My lips parted with a gasp and my hand grazed the skin underneath the collar on his shirt. As soon as my fingers went passed the line of his shirt, those stormy eyes flashed and, before I could blink, his lips were on mine again.

 

My eyes closed on instinct as my arm wrapped around him as if holding on for dear life. Electric ran through me, spreading from where his free hand caressed my hip and I found myself melting into his strong touch. Although the touch of his lips were gentle, the effect they had was anything but; my breath grew shallow and my entire body was on fire. I wanted, no, needed, more.

 

_Fuck it,_ growled my inner voice as I shifted so my legs were tucked under me. I wrapped both arms around Takashi and deepened the kiss with a sigh. My hands ran under his shirt hungrily, eagerly grasping what they desired. Takashi responded with his own sigh that felt more like a growl from the vibrations that ran through me as he clutched me to his chest. Both of his large hands clutched onto my hips now and his thumbs grazed my waist making me gasp in surprise at the pleasant caress. Takashi took the opportunity to graze his tongue against my top lip making me shiver and moan involuntarily. His hands gripped me tighter at the sound and heat of the kiss continued to rise making my me insanely needy.

 

“Wait.” I managed to gasp as a thought occurred to me. We couldn’t let this go any further and if we continued I knew I wouldn’t have the strength or will to stop it. Takashi instantly leaned away from me staring into my eyes with worry, his thumbs again caressing my sides making me almost cave in.

 

“We need to stop,” I breathed putting my hands on his shoulders to steady myself. He looked a little hurt and his eyebrows furrowed. “Trust me, I don’t want to. We have to.”

 

“Right,” he nodded with a slightly relieved smile. A few more moments passed with us just staring at each other in wonder as the oxygen came back into our bodies. When my breathing was back to normal I let out a soft laugh and shook my head in amazement. I patted my hand on his shoulder, grabbed my drink and took a large swig.

 

“I’ll finish this and then go to bed.” I said, more ordering myself than informing Takashi, as I shifted to lean against the arm rest and stretch my legs. Before I could move them to the floor, Takashi’s hand was placed on my ankle making me look up at him. He looked at me again in the way that made my throat tighten as his fingers began to trace the details of my ankle and calf. I felt my heart sigh in pleasure and I my throat loosened as I smiled at him.

 

We sat like that, drinking our drinks in silence, his hand setting me on fire and then soothing the flames until our glasses were empty. We walked upstairs next to each other, our hands gently grazing each other as we walked, and went to our bedrooms with a parting smile and final whisper of a touch of hands.

 


	8. The Day After

I sighed in aggravation and threw my sheets to the side. There was no way I could sleep. I’d been in bed for three hours with no success so I decided to get my laptop from my bag and do some work. Since Mei had told me about the wedding, I’d been procrastinating and still had the 1000 words left to write from last weekend. I spent ten minutes re-reading what I’d already done and then continued with my last point before starting the introduction and conclusion to my essay.

 

Three hours later, I had finished, checked, saved and emailed my essay to my tutor. I looked at the clock in the corner of my screen and decided that 6 AM was early enough for a shower. I grabbed my toiletries from my bag and made my way to the en-suite which was decorated in a similar style to the bedroom but with slightly cooler tones of blues and greens. The shower was a simple walk-in structure that had a large overhanging shower head. I turned the shower on and fiddled with the settings until it was scorching hot and at a very high pressure. I removed my pyjamas and place my toiletries in the shower before stepping in and sighing. The water began to wake me up a little and I let myself enjoy the feeling of it for a little before washing my hair.

 

After half an hour, I was done and had my hair wrapped in one towel while another was wrapped around my body. I went back to my bed and put music on my laptop on softly so I wouldn’t wake anyone else up. I took the time to gently rub my hair with the towel before massaging the hair cream that I always used into it. I sat back when that was done and listened to my music.

 

My mind drifted to the events of last night. I could still feel the heat of Takashi’s lips on my own and the way my entire body had sang in response. I had always loved kissing; Nick hadn’t been a great kisser but every kiss had gone straight through me. The kiss last night, however, was everything I had wanted a kiss to be. _Well, maybe not everything,_ I thought with a chuckle. The way Takashi had responded to every slight shift in my body still made my heart race.

 

I shrugged and pulled my thoughts back to the present even though my body was still tingling. I began to put on my makeup feeling better with each step. The slightly purple tinge to my eyeshadow made my green eyes glow, especially with the dark berry lipstick I used. I felt like having an intimidating makeup day and grinned as I remembered that I’d packed my favourite black dress. I slid it on over my lacy underwear and fidgeted with the fabric so that the low V-neck showed off just the right amount of cleavage, which was rather difficult to juggle with my rather large breasts, and the skirt which was cut to hang in a V at the back was sitting in the right place. I looked at myself in the mirror and smiled at the way my figure was turning out; I had lost a lot of weight in the last year and had continued to work out when I got to Japan. My curves were rounded but toned, just the way I wanted, and I was very proud of myself.

 

Still feeling the pride, I made my way downstairs to make a tea and some breakfast. I had managed to get Ritsu into English breakfast tea with milk and sugar so I knew there would be some in. When I reached the kitchen I put the kettle on and started looking through cupboards for mugs and ingredients. I started humming idly as I made my tea and searching through the fridge and cupboards for items to eat for breakfast. The lyrics started tumbling from my mouth, it was the last song I’d listened to when getting ready and it reminded me of times in a pub back home listening to folk music.

 

“You have a beautiful voice.” Said a voice from behind me. I gasped in shock and spun to see Takashi standing only a foot behind me.

 

“You need a bell,” I said after a few seconds of catching my breath. “Did I wake you?”

 

“No, I couldn’t sleep.” He replied. My brow furrowed in thought.

 

“Is everything alright?”

 

“I couldn’t stop thinking about you.” He replied with a sheepish smile.

 

“I somehow don’t believe that.” I said with a chuckle and busied myself with staring at the contents of the fridge.

 

“It’s the truth.” Takashi purred, one hand on my hip. Even with the fridge open, the heat that shot through me at the contact was overwhelming. Takashi turned me to face him and pressed me against the kitchen counter. My mouth went dry and I automatically licked my lips making his stormy grey eyes shoot to them. He looked back into my eyes with a slight smirk as he leaned even more into me. His chest was pressed close against my own, one of his thighs had moved in between my legs, it was enough to make me pant.

 

“What’s going on with you?” I whispered, my breathing shallow in anticipation.

 

“You.” He answered against my throat. He didn’t let his lips touch me but I could feel how close he was to my sensitive skin. My legs nearly dropped out from under me but I grabbed on tight to the counter behind me.

 

“Takashi,” I sighed, not sure what I was trying to achieve. His head came up so his eyes met mine again before he brought his mouth within an inch of mine. I could feel his breath on my lips and it made me shiver.

 

“I like how you say my name,” he mumbled sounding preoccupied and when his eyes shot back to mine, I could tell where his thoughts had gone. My breath left me at the realisation and a grin spread across my face before he crushed his mouth against mine. My hands moved to grip onto the collar of his grey button up shirt in desperation. One of his was in my still damp hair in a tight grip and the other held me in place by my hip. I sighed on instinct, my mouth parting slightly and he took the opportunity to let his tongue dash in between my lips making my sigh turn into a moan.

 

“Takashi!” I heard someone call from miles away. Neither of us paid any attention to it until his name was called again but it seemed closer this time. I pushed him away even though every part of my body was screaming, begging me not to. I looked into his face and hiccupped a laugh, my dark lipstick left a clear mark of what we’d just done. Panicked, I looked around for something that he could wipe it away with and found the kitchen roll. I handed it to him and pointed to his mouth, he nodded looking dazed and then rubbed around his mouth.

Both us were still breathing heavily when Honey skipped around the corner with a huge grin on his face. Takashi went over to him while I shut the fridge and drank my tea. _What the hell just happened,_ I thought to myself with a shake of my head.

 

“Takashi, you look really tired. Did you not sleep well?” Honey asked Takashi, his eyes large with worry.

 

“I couldn’t sleep.” Takashi answered him, quickly glancing up at me making me shiver.

 

“Oh no! How come? Were you scared?”

 

“No, I definitely wasn’t scared.” Honey frowned at this, I was glad he wasn’t the only one that thought this was odd behaviour.

 

“Takashi, you really should go get some sleep. You don’t want to upset people.” Honey said his tone showing his true age.

 

“I won’t upset anyone, Mitsukuni. I won’t be able to sleep, so there’s no point.” Takashi said leaning against the counter next to me.

 

“Honey, what is wrong with him?” I asked Honey with a good natured laugh. I really didn’t mind Takashi’s behaviour for obvious reasons but it clearly wasn’t like him.

 

“He’s just tired. He gets like this when he’s tired.” Honey answered rolling his eyes at Takashi.

 

“Ah, so that’s why you wanted him to sleep?”

 

“Yeah, he usually calms down after he’s slept. Has he upset you?”

 

“No, I think it’s hilarious.” Takashi raised an eyebrow at this and I struggled to stop my body from melting in response. “Can I get either of you a drink?”

 

“What are you drinking?” Honey asked.

 

“English tea.”

 

“Can I have some?”

 

“Of course, how do you take it?”

 

“Lots of milk and four sugars.” My eyes widened at his response. _To each their own,_ I shrugged and went to making his drink.

 

“Do you want something to drink?” I asked Takashi, my originally soft smile turning slightly embarrassed as I caught him staring at me.

 

“I’ll have what you’re having.”

 

“How do you like it?”

 

Takashi’s eyebrow shot up at my question and his eyes trailed down my body and then back to my eyes. I gave him my best attempt at a disapproving look but his answering grin told me I had not succeeded. The kettle boiled and I put water in both mugs.

 

“If you’re not going to tell me, then I’ll just make it how I have it.” I heard his deep chuckle next to me and I struggled to stop my own.

 

“Good morning, you’re all up early.” Mei said sounding like it was anything but a good morning. I smiled at her and offered her a drink. “Coffee,” she responded and I chuckled at her sour mood. I made her coffee how I knew she liked it and went to sit with her in the living room. Takashi and Honey followed after us with their drinks, Honey sitting in his own chair and starting a cheery conversation with Mei while Takashi sat next to me. I tucked my legs up under me and so my feet were against him, he then dropped his hand closest to me so it lay against my ankle. His touch made my breath hitch and when he gently caressed the back of my leg with one warm, long finger, I thought I might pass out from the torture. To distract myself I launched into a conversation with Mei about ideas that I’d had for her wedding and plans for the dress. She was so eager that it almost worked but his constant exploration of my calf with his hand was driving me insane and I saw Mei’s eyes drop to his hand when I gasped as he caressed one particularly sensitive spot.

 

“I think I’ll go get Ritsu to start on breakfast.” Mei declared and made her way back upstairs. The room was silent until a bedraggled Ritsu shuffled down the stairs followed by a smug Mei.

 

“Can I help make breakfast?” Honey asked his face lighting up in excitement.

“Please,” Mei answered for Ritsu who was already in the kitchen and then shot me a look that promised me we would be discussing what she had seen. They both left to join him, Honey skipping and Mei rolling her eyes at his enthusiasm. I took a second to really enjoy the feeling of Takashi’s hand before turning to him with a chastising glare.

 

“You need to stop that,” I whispered very aware of Mei’s eagle hearing.

 

“Why?” He responded with a slight smirk and a long, soft caress of my leg. Again, my mind went blank until a thought occurred to me.

 

“It’s not fair to me if you’re only doing this because you’re tired.” I whispered. I had no issue with being honest with him, I had no doubt that he wouldn’t go round telling people. His hand paused in its movement and his eyes fully met mine, the intensity in them made me gasp slightly. No one had ever looked at me like that.

 

“If it were just because I was tired, I wouldn’t have kissed you last night.” He replied, his gaze still holding mine.

 

“Okay,” I nodded after a pause and he went back to stroking my leg.


	9. Sushi and Ice cream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Girl chats with Mei and Haruhi.

“You brought Haruhi?” I asked Mei. I stood in her living room with a tub of ice cream melting in my hands. Mei rolled her eyes and grabbed the tub from me.

 

“Of course I did. I told her what I saw and she begged to come tonight.” Mei called from the kitchen.

 

“I didn’t beg at all. You told me what you saw and then demanded that I be here tonight. You wouldn’t even give me a reason.” Haruhi shouted back, flashing me an apologetic smile. I patted her on the shoulder before sitting on the floor as Mei had ordered me to.

 

“Same thing,” Mei mumbled as she sat next to Haruhi placing sushi and chopsticks on the coffee table between us. “So, what happened?”

 

I looked between the two and found Mei’s expressive face far too eager and Haruhi’s slightly curious.

 

“We kissed.”

 

“You what?!” Mei screeched. “When? How?”

 

“Spin the bottle and then later. And then in the morning.” I then paused for dramatic effect. “If you and Ritsu are having a baby shouldn’t you know how to kiss?” This comment got me a pillow to the face but made Haruhi and myself laugh.

 

“Wait.” Mei insisted with a thoughtful look. “You kissed him three times?”

 

“Well, technically he kissed me three times but yes.” A cheeky smile was growing across my face. I had really missed these types of chats with girlfriends.

 

“I knew he’d kiss you when I dared him but I can’t believe it.” Mei mumbled as she picked up her chopsticks.

 

“You knew he’d kiss me?”

 

“Yeah,” Mei said as if it were obvious. I just rolled my eyes at her lack of explanation and picked up a salmon nigiri.

 

“Tell us more, then.” Mei demanded with her mouth full making Haruhi frown.

 

“Like what?”

 

“What was it like? He’s always so quiet I can’t really imagine him having the courage to do that sort of thing. That’s way I did that dare and wanted to play the game.”

 

“You’d be surprised,” I mumbled remembering just how forward he had been. “It was … good.” I settled on and attempted to hide my grin behind more sushi.

 

“Just good?” This was Haruhi now. I was shocked that she’d asked but when I looked at her she looked genuine, as if she were hopeful that it wasn’t “just good”.

 

“Okay … amazing.” I gave her a shy smile at this as Mei giggled and bounced in her seat, reminding me of Tamaki. Haruhi looked pleased at my statement and nodded slightly.

 

“I knew it!” Mei declared with a sly look at Haruhi who had already gone back to eating. Mei’s look, however, made me suspicious.

 

“Did you plan this?” I asked Mei carefully. She looked at me her eyes slightly wide in feigned innocence. I let out a slightly aggravated breath and shook my head at her. “Mei, just what were you trying to achieve?”

 

“Nothing.” She said, her hazel eyes growing even wider but a slight grin was forming on her mouth.

 

“Mei,” I cautioned.

 

“Okay. Takashi should be in a relationship and so should you.” Mei explained, although I felt there was more to it than that, her statement made me rather angry.

 

“It’s not your place to decide that for either of us, Mei. Who else have you dragged into this little scheme of yours?” Mei’s eyes registered a flash of her own anger at my patronising tone.

 

“I was just trying to help!” She growled, her temper was always so short. For some reason I was very hurt by her plan but I decided to bite my tongue and carry on eating.

 

“Shouldn’t you be thanking me?” Mei mumbled after a moment of my silence. I looked up at her pouting face and couldn’t stop my reaction. I threw my chopsticks down and stormed back to my flat. It was only when I’d sat on my sofa after a few minutes of pacing and grumbling to myself that I realised I was crying. _Why do I always cry when I’m angry,_ I demanded of myself as I angrily wiped my tears away.

 

“Why am I even angry?” I whispered to myself, searching through my thoughts to find anything that stuck out. After a moment or two of silence I decided that I wasn’t angry at Mei really, well, at least not for her wanting to get Takashi and I together. So why was I so upset?

 

_I’m scared,_ a small voice said in the back of my mind. I let out the breath I hadn’t realised I was holding and nodded to myself. I was scared of the idea of a relationship. I’d been scared when Nick and I had got together, I’d been hurt by people that I had given my love to too many times that it was hard to give that power to someone. I did, though, I reminded myself. I’d given my love to Nick, I’d given him everything and, although it hurt, I wasn’t broken like I was before. He’d helped me to heal and I had had to let it happen. This was the same. _Besides, it probably won’t even turn into anything_ , I insisted to myself as I made my way to the bathroom to clean up my face. The thought sent a thrill through me, _but I’d like to see where it will go._

I sighed before making my way back to Mei’s flat, knocking on her door gently. Haruhi opened the door with a flustered expression that changed to shock when she saw it was me.

 

“I need to apologise.” I said by way of explanation.

 

“No, you don’t. It wasn’t fair of Mei to say that. I’d have been angry too.” Haruhi said as she let me into the room. I gave her a grateful smile but heard a sniffle from the living room so made my way towards the sound. I saw Mei pouting in a corner, a few tear streaks in her makeup.

 

“Mei, I’m sorry I ran out. I’m not really angry at you for doing what you did. I realised I was scared.” All of this fell out of my mouth as I prayed she wouldn’t yell at me again. She turned to look at me with watery eyes.

 

“Why are you sorry? I’m sorry!” She hiccupped, her voice shaky. I smiled at her and knelt down beside her, wrapping my arms around her. After a moment we got back to our feet.

 

“Why were you scared?” Haruhi asked me. She clearly had been thinking about what I’d just said. Mei looked at me with concern when Haruhi said this. I bit my lip, trying to find the right way to phrase it.

 

“I don’t think I’d thought about being in a relationship again. I think when you said that I should be in one it scared me because I wasn’t sure if I was ready for another. I think it just really surprised me and I needed to think. I’m sorry.” I explained slowly, my eyes glancing between Mei and Haruhi to see if the understood. They both nodded and smiled at me when I finished what I had to say.

 

We spent the next few hours discussing boys, life and, of course, Mei’s wedding while eating sushi and ice cream. I left with Haruhi, waving goodbye as I entered my flat. I sat on the sofa again, picking up my laptop and frowning. A thought had been niggling at the back of my mind and I felt that I knew what I had to do.

 

_Hi Nick,_

_Hope you’re alright._

_It’s been a while._

_Would love to catch up._

_Hannah x_


	10. The Drive

My phone rang next to me on the sofa. I paused my music and answered the unknown number.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Hannah-chan?”

 

“Honey?” I asked, recognising the voice.

 

“Yeah! Are you free on Saturday? I want you to come to mine for dinner.” His excited voice came through the phone and I could imagine him rocking onto the balls of his feet. I flicked through my mental calendar then rolled my eyes at myself knowing that I was definitely free.

 

“I’m free. What time would you like me to be there?” I asked a smile growing across my face.

 

“Takashi will pick you up! He’ll be there at 5.” He was speaking rather quickly now but my stomach did a slight flip at his name.

 

“That’s nice of him but I can make my own way there.” I said, hoping that Honey would argue the opposite.

 

“No, he said he wants to.” Although I doubted that he said that, his comment made me smile.

 

“Okay, does he know where I live or shall I meet him somewhere?”

 

“He’ll pick you up from your house.” At this a thought popped into my head.

 

“Oh, does he know my address?” I asked suspiciously. I thought I knew the answer.

 

“Yes.” Honey said confirming my suspicion.

 

“Great! Oh, Honey, how did you get my number?”

“Eto … Got to go. See you Saturday!” Honey said hanging up. My eyes narrowed as they stared in the direction of Mei’s flat but I just chuckled and shook my head.

 

*  *  *

My sea green eyes stared back at me from the mirror pensively. I bit the inside of my cheek as I checked over my reflection. The black polo neck and skater skirt clung to my curves and my makeup was smoky but not too dark. I gave on last fluff to add the slightest volume to my curls then grabbed my handbag and left.

 

There was a soft, icy wind that pinched at my cheeks as I stood outside my building. I took a deep breath and could taste the ice on the wind. _Japan will be beautiful in the snow,_ I thought to myself with a smile. I had always loved winter and the purifying touch of new snow, it hadn’t really snowed in England for a while so I couldn’t wait for the snow here. I thought back to a holiday I’d had with my family where we all went to a cottage in February. It had snowed so much that we were stuck for a day, but we didn’t care as we made our way to a nearby hill with sleds. My brothers had even managed to get my 70-year-old nan on the back of one and then came sprinting back up to get her inhaler.

 

 I was still smiling in memory when a black Mercedes pulled up in front of me. I dipped my head to see Takashi in the driver’s seat and gave a small wave before opening the door.

 

“Thank you for picking me up,” I said as I stepped into the warm car. “It’s really good of you.”

 

“Honey told me to,” he informed me as he pulled away from the curb, his face blank. _I knew it,_ I thought to myself.

 

“Ah,” I nodded, taking a moment to assess his expression. Although it seemed blank his jaw was slightly tense. “I’m sorry. I did say to him that I could make my own way there. I didn’t mean to cause you any inconvenience.”

I saw his jaw unclench as he quickly glanced at me. After a moment he seemed to make up his mind as he gave a gentle nod, “I’m not complaining.” He mumbled with a quick flash of a grin making me chuckle as he repeated my words from the other week. I looked out of my window to see the dimming sky tinged with a deep salmon colour over the buildings.

 

“Do you think it will snow?” I asked, not realising I’d spoke out loud until Takashi replied.

 

“Not yet.” He replied with his own speculative look at the sky. I smiled at him and continued to enjoy the silence until a thought popped into my head.

 

“Oh, I wanted to ask you, what do you do? As in, for work?”  I asked letting my gaze rest on his masculine features. His eyes shifted to me for a brief second, meeting my own, and then back to the road before answering, “Lawyer.”

 

“Really?” I was surprised by his answer. “I expected you to do something a bit more hands on.” I bit my lip as my statement made me think of his hands. They were definitely built for action, his entire body was, I couldn’t imagine him sat behind a desk. Although, as I began to think about it, I couldn’t help but smile at the image of him in a suit sat behind a large desk wearing glasses.

 

He shrugged at my statement turning my smile into a frown as the muscle twitched in his jaw.

 

“Is that what you’ve always wanted to do?” My question made his jaw twitch again and I realised this might be a sensitive area. “I’m sorry, you don’t have to tell me.” I apologised waving off the subject. He shot me a surprised look before taking a deep breath.

 

“Family business.” He mumbled by way of explanation which I nodded at.

 

“What else do you do? Do you have any hobbies?” I asked after a moment, trying to change the subject. I saw his face soften again and my heart sighed.

 

“Judo and Kendo.” He replied with a very slight upward curve to his lips.

 

“Oh really?” His response didn’t surprise me; I could easily picture him in a gi. “I’ve always loved martial arts; I did a bit of judo when I was younger. I miss it. Where do you go? I’d love to start up again.”

 

His mouth twitched into a brief smile. _His face is so warm when he smiles,_ I thought to myself as I studied him. “My family’s dojo.” He replied. My eyebrow rose a that.

 

 “Oh, that’s cool! Do you know anywhere that I could try then?”

 

After a few moments of silence her replied, “I can.”

 

“You can, what?” I asked confused.

 

“Teach you.” Although his face was blank again I could see a nervous glint to his eyes as they shifted to me.

 

“That’s so sweet of you. How much would you want?” His brow furrowed quickly at my question before he smiled at me gently.

 

“Nothing.”

 

I froze slightly at his response and the smile he was giving me. “Well let me repay you somehow.” I said and he became thoughtful for a moment.

 

“Make me dinner. Sunday?” He replied, a small smirk forming on his face.

 

I let out a short laugh at his response. _Yeah, I can do that,_ I thought with a nod.

 

“I’ll pick you up at 10.” He informed me, his smirk growing as we pulled into a driveway.


	11. Dinner Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a long one to make up for two short ones.

 

The house in front of me looked like nothing I’d seen in Japan. Although there were clearly some elements of Japanese architecture, this house looked like the large houses back in England. The rooves overhung more than I was used to and they weren’t as steep but there were three floors making the house look square from the front. There was a porch that came out into the driveway that was nothing more than a covering over the path leading the door. The entire house was white with dark brown definitions that were made to look like structural beams.

 

I was completely amazed and confused by this house but I didn’t have long to think about it as Takashi made his way towards the dark wood door under the porch. I rushed to catch up with him and, by the time I’d reached the door, it had already been opened. The interior was very clearly Japanese with light walls, dark wood flooring and an open-plan structure. There were no pictures on the walls and only a few decorations of hanging scrolls with calligraphy and art that was rather colourless.  Takashi walked through to a large dining room with a table that could easily seat sixteen people made from the same colour wood as the floors.

 

“Hannah-chan!” came a familiar shout as my eyes took in the ornate detailing on the chairs. I looked up to see Honey in front of me and I smiled at him warmly.

 

“Your home is beautiful!” I said, although I found the house a bit confusing, it really was beautiful. “Thank you so much for inviting me.” Honey chuckled in response and grabbed my head, dragging me behind him toward a petite woman with long black hair.

 

“Reiko! This is Hannah-chan!” The black haired woman turned to face me with a bored, blank look. Her dark grey eyes latched onto mine. _I think I’m going to like this girl,_ I thought as I saw that her look was blank by default but her eyes held a strong intelligence.

 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” I greeted with a deep bow. I looked up to see her eyes slightly wide and she quickly echoed my actions and statement. My face lit up with a warm smile, similar to the one I had around Honey. “Honey hasn’t stopped talking about you! He said that I had to come to dinner to meet you.”

 

Her mouth opened and shut again as if she didn’t know what to say in response and I chuckled slightly. _Honey was right, she certainly is cute,_ I noted as a small blush lit up her face. I took the moment to quickly examine her; she wore no makeup, as she didn’t need it, her dark hair framed her face in sharp layers and she wore a beautiful black dress that had full length sleeves and a high lace neck.

 

“I love your dress! It’s beautiful!” I gushed making her blush grow.

 

“Thank you,” she said in a soft voice.

 

“Hannah-chan, what’s in the bag?” Honey asked as bounced to Reiko’s side. I looked down at the small gift bag I had in my hand and then handed it to him with a smile. He grinned at me and pulled out the bottle of Irish Cream liquor that I’d bought for the dinner.

 

“I know you like sweet things so I thought you should give this a go. It’s really tasty with ice.” I informed them both with a soft smile.

 

“We should have some now!” Honey declared.

 

“It’s usually better with dessert.” I said my smile becoming amused. “It would be best to put it in the fridge until then if you would like to try it.”

 

“Okay, I’ll go put it in the fridge.”

 

I smiled at Reiko again as Honey skipped off to what I assumed was the kitchen. She had a very slight smile on her face and it struck me how similar she was to Takashi. The main difference was that she seemed timid where Takashi, well, he’s just quiet.

 

“So you and Honey met at school?” I asked Reiko, trying to make some conversation. She nodded in response.

“Were you together when he was part of the Host club?” Again she nodded.

 

“That must have been … odd. Being his girlfriend but him still taking part in the club.”

 

“Not really.” She responded after a moment’s pause.

 

“Really? How come?”

 

“They didn’t see him how I did.” Her response made me smile and nod in understanding.

 

“What do you mean, Reiko?” Honey asked as he came back into the room. Reiko’s face instantly softened at his attention.

 

“They saw you as a child.” Was her explanation. I looked to Honey, expecting him to be upset by this but he just grinned.

 

“Yeah, it’s ‘cuz I was super cute!” His response made me raise an eyebrow, I had definitely not expected him to be vein. “We should sit down. Dinner’s ready!”

 

We all sat at Honey’s request, me next to Takashi and opposite Reiko who was next to Honey. I took a moment to look at the place setting and was momentarily dazed by the shining, ornate cutlery.

 

“Will we not be using chopsticks?” I asked noticing everyone else was given the same cutlery. Before anyone could answer, a bowl of soup was placed in front of us all; I nodded in understanding and thanked the server. The soup looked like butternut squash or pumpkin and I smiled slightly as a basket of bread was placed in the centre of the table and from the smell they seemed to be fresh.

 

“Itadakimasu.” I said with a slight nod of my head receiving a large grin from Honey and looks from Takashi and Reiko who had already began eating. Shrugging off my ignorance with a good natured smile I tore into a warm bread roll and dipped it into my soup, tasting it with a hmm of approval.

 

“Honey, I wanted to ask you, what do you do for work?” I asked and saw Takashi quickly glance at me.

 

“Takashi and I work together. It’s our family’s business.” He informed me and I nodded as I ate some more soup-soaked bread.

 

“So what is the business?” I asked.

 

“We make toys. We work with kids and help schools and clubs. We also have the family dojo but our younger brothers handle that.” Honey replied vaguely.

 

“Oh right. That’s a lot, but that’s amazing.” I said with a smile. “So how do you fit into the company?”

 

“I help make toys.” Honey replied making me smile. _Of course you do,_ I thought but just nodded my head.

 

“What about you, Reiko?” I asked her with a smile. Her eyes widened slightly at the sudden attention but she seemed to calm when Honey turned to her with a smile.

 

“I don’t work.”

 

“Oh?” I couldn’t help the surprise that slipped into my voice. She turned to Honey with a slightly panicked look and he gave her an encouraging nod.

 

“I work with the occult. I do rituals for people who need them.” She mumbled not meeting my eyes.

 

“Really? That’s interesting. I’ve always been interested in the occult but, I have to admit, I’m a bit of a sceptic.” Everyone looked at me with their own version of surprise, Honey’s face completely transformed while Takashi’s and Reiko’s were subtle shifts.

 

“Isn’t that great, Reiko?” Honey asked his wife after a short pause. Takashi turned his attention back to his food. Reiko simply continued to stare at me. “You should show her some things after dinner.” Honey declared with his usual grin.

 

“I’d like that.” I confirmed sincerely.

 

“I could do a reading.” She said after a moment of silence. There was an eager glint in her eyes that made me chuckle and nod without any reservation.

 

*   *   *

 

“That was absolutely beautiful. Thank you so much!” I exclaimed an hour and a half later. The soup had been followed by a flavoursome seafood pasta dish and an overly sweet chocolate cake that had been baked to perfection. I let out a sigh as I realised that I was very full.

 

“Hannah-chan, can you make that drink that you brought?” Honey asked bouncing slightly in his seat and I wondered at his energy.

 

“Of course, can you show me the way?” I responded rising from my chair and fixing my skirt.

 

“Yeah – oh, Takashi, can you show Hannah-chan? We’ll move through to the living room.” Honey’s response made my eyes narrow slightly but I shrugged it off. Takashi nodded with a tense jaw then led the way to the door Honey had gone through earlier. Before following after him, I picked up five plates, artfully piling them on top of each other.

 

Takashi was stood on the other side of the door with a tense back and eyes fixed on the ground. Frowning, I put the plates down by the marble butler sink and began to look through the cupboards for glasses.

“So are you going to tell me what’s wrong?” I asked Takashi still looking through cupboards. After a moment of silence, I turned to look at him. His grey eyes were suspicious and guarded, his jaw tense. My body automatically turned to be fully angled toward him and my head tilted to the side. His face softened slightly as his eyes moved to look at the door then back to me.

 

“Mitsukuni is keeping something from me.” He answered finally. His eyes were now resting on me as if I knew the answer and, unfortunately, I thought I did too. I unconsciously bit my lip as I internally debated what I should tell Takashi. For one thing, was I comfortable telling him that Mei, and I suspected Honey as well, wanted us to get together? That didn’t really bother me, I hadn’t decided if I cared if anything happened between the two of us yet so I only cared if it upset our sort of friendship. More importantly though, I was worried about telling Mei’s secret, my well trained sisterly instincts screaming that I would be breaking “the code”. However, Mei had already broken the code by telling someone else, meaning Honey, and if she really wanted it to be a secret then she should have made sure that I never found out.

 

“You know, don’t you.” My eyes shot to Takashi’s at his statement. As my eyes met his, my decision was made and I nodded.

 

“Well, I think I do. I know that Mei has decided to play cupid and I suspect she managed to get Honey involved in her scheme as he magically had my number and knew my address to give to you.” I went back to looking through the cupboards as my stomach did a slight flip. _Okay, so apparently I care a little bit,_ I thought to myself as I finally found the glasses. Still refusing to look at Takashi, I put ice in the glasses then poured the Irish Cream liquor to the top of the ice. As I handed him two of the glasses I quickly let my eyes examine him and found our gazes locked. He seemed calm and thoughtful but other than that I couldn’t read any emotion so I just handed him the glasses then picked up my own. With a subtle nod he led the way through the dining room and across the entrance hall into an equally monotone living room. The sofas were all white fabric with white cushions which stood out against the rest of the dark wood furniture and flooring.

 

“Hannah-chan! You should let Reiko do a reading on you. She really wants to.” Honey said as I handed him a glass then the other to Reiko. Takashi had already made his way to the sofa next to the one Honey and Reiko sat on, placing the other two glasses in front of him on the dark coffee table.

 

“I would love to.” I smiled at Reiko and I was rewarded with a soft, timid smile back. “Where shall I sit?” Reiko shot to her feet and pulled me to the now only free sofa, sitting me on one side angled in. After retrieving a small box from the coffee table, she sat herself next to me at a similar angle and opened the box. She pulled out a black silk scarf with silver embroidery that seemed to hole something rectangular. She placed the wrapped scarf between us on the sofa and took my hands eagerly.

 

“Relax,” She instructed me simply. Her dark eyes closing with a flutter of lashes. I copied and took a deep breath; the room was silent around us but I could feel a tension, as if we were being watched. I attempted to push away the tension, focusing on the pattern of my breathing and the feeling of Reiko’s soft hands that rested under mine.  After a few deep breaths, my body relaxed and my mind focused on the energy of my body and Reiko’s. The hands beneath mine dropped slowly, taking mine with them and making me open my eyes. Reiko carefully unfolded the scarf to reveal what I assumed were tarot cards. Her eyes closed again as she shuffled the cards, frowning slightly and I focused on her hands, becoming mesmerised by her technique.

 

“I will place the cards down and then talk about what I feel they mean.” Reiko informed me as she stopped shuffling. I nodded slightly at her, my eyes still fixed on the cards. Confidently, she took a card from the pack and placed it slightly to her left, quickly taking another and placing that above the first and more to the centre. After a short pause, she put another down over the second card then below that placed another. Again she paused, this time frowning deeply before placing the next card as far to her left as she could then, nodding slightly, placed another to her right. Quickly she placed another two to her right and opened her eyes. She placed the rest of the cards on the coffee table then turned to face me with a soft smile.

 

“This symbolises your journey and your transition into a new life,” Reiko began turning over the first card she had placed that pictured a naked woman encircled by a garland. Reiko then moved her hand to the pile of three cards in the centre and turned them all over, covering the bottom two with the top.

 

“This is _Strength_. It demonstrates your calm strength. It shows that you have the courage to take action when others would not, or could not,” at this she removed the card on top to reveal a woman on a throne with a sword in one hand and scales in another. “You use your strength to seek balance in the world. These two cards are very strongly linked meaning that they fuel each other. Although this card is _Justice_ I feel its other meaning of balance is more appropriate for you. Would you agree?” I was shocked by her question and nodded on instinct, realising that it was true.

 

Nodding, Reiko removed _Justice_ revealing another woman sat on a throne who was sat profile and holding an elegant chalice which she stared at wistfully. “The past two cards have allowed the _Queen of Cups_ to develop, your strength and need for equilibrium have allowed you to develop into a devoted woman with a loving intelligence and wisdom. These attributes will ensure your future and present happiness if you allow them to flourish.”

 

Reiko took a moment, hovering a hand over the card on the far left before flipping it. This card depicted a blindfolded and bound woman surrounded by swords and was facing me instead of Reiko; my stomach dropped at the image. “The _Eight of Swords_ when inverted often refers to relatives and I think that is the case here. This card felt as if it were showing a past experience but also something very familiar. So perhaps it refers to multiple situations that could be similar. It tends to refer to conflict and often treachery.”

 

Reiko moved tentatively to the card on her right that was closest to the centre. Once she flipped it over she frowned and nodded. As she took a moment, I examined the newest card and found the image of a crying woman on a bed under several swords very disturbing. My breath hitched and I anxiously looked to Reiko, praying that she would talk soon.

“The _Nine of Swords_ can mean a lot of things but it is usually seen as a bad omen. I don’t feel that the two _Swords_ are related, in fact, I think they showed the _Eight_ to show what you have overcome and to warn that there will be more turbulence to come, I get the feeling it will be related to love. Possibly a delay in the relationship or maybe even a miscarriage.” The last part made my stomach drop again and I really didn’t like what my gut was telling me. I tried to push my thoughts away as Reiko quickly reached for the next card to the right and flipped it, this time with a smiling nod.

 

“The _Two of Swords_ shows that it will be overcome. It symbolises friendship and valour and even tenderness in some cases. I feel that at the time the problem will seem very bad but you will overcome it with the support of the people around you. Especially if you remember what the previous cards have told you. Finally,” She began, flipping the final card. “the _Ace of Swords_ is the ultimate symbol of triumph, often through force. There will be a lot of success if you continue to stay strong and fight like you have in the past.”

 

Reiko finished and smiled at me. I breathed deeply and took one last look at the cards before returning her smile.

 

“Thank you, Reiko.” I said with a slight bow. That seemed to be all she needed as she packed away her cards then went to sit next to Honey who began animatedly talking with her about the reading. I moved stiffly to sit next to Takashi and quickly grabbed my drink allowing the sharp, creamy taste to ease the tension that had built during the reading. I could feel Takashi’s eyes on me but I refused to look at him, my mind still whirling slightly.

 

“This is really tasty, Hannah-chan.” I heard in the distance. I forced my head to rise to look at Honey, his eager smile and slight bouncing warmed me enough that my mind slowly began to calm.

 

“I’m glad you like it, I thought you might. I know you said that you really like sweet things and this was the best I could find.” I said with a smile. Honey returned to talking with Reiko, not really requiring responses and I let my eyes meet Takashi’s. When our eyes met his hand fell to softly press against my own that lay in my lap. I smiled softly at the slight pressure and responded with my own to show I was okay. At my response he turned his back to listen to Honey but left his hand against my own, filling me with the warmth that radiated from him. I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face. _Reiko was right,_ I thought, _I know I can face whatever may come._

 

 


	12. The Reply

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm aware that this one is very short. My apologies!  
> Would love any feedback <3

Nearly a month had gone by since the dinner with Honey and Reiko; Takashi and I had agreed to not tell the others about our training on Sundays and so they’d gone by rather smoothly, however, after two sessions, things were starting to become clearer for me where Takashi was concerned so I’d arranged to meet Nanako at a coffee shop.

 

“I was so glad you wanted to meet,” Nanako started as soon as she sat down, fifteen minutes late. “I’m really stressing out about this evaluation especially because now we have to do another performance. I don’t know how I’m going to fit everything in. I’ll get a coffee, do you want anything?” She finally stopped and I smiled at her shaking my head. She quickly made her way to the counter as I continued to sip at my hot chocolate that was still warm. I was used to Nanako’s ramblings by this point and I took them with a pinch of salt. When she returned I decided it would be best for both of us if I started with what I really wanted to talk about.

 

“I actually wanted to talk to you about something not University related,” I started, watching her carefully to see if I’d made the right decision. When I’d decided I had, I continued, “There’s a guy …” Nanako gasped, her mouth full of coffee and clapped her hands together gleefully, making me smile.

 

“Who? How did you meet? Are you together? Do you want to be? Is he cute?” Nanako’s questions were like bullets and I blinked a few times, struggling to keep up with her rapid Japanese. I took a slow sip of my drink to build the tension I could already see Nanako was straining against.

 

“His name’s Takashi,” Nanako sighed happily at this and I rolled my eyes knowing I would be doing exactly the same thing. “We met through a friend. We are definitely not together and I think I want us to be. I wouldn’t say he was cute,” I paused as I thought about a way to describe him in Japanese and in the end just settled on the English, knowing she would understand. “He’s sexy. A man. You know?” Nanako nodded eagerly, biting her lip.

 

“Have you confessed?” She asked breathlessly.

“No, I’m not twelve.”

 

“You should confess!” She argued grabbing onto my arm.

 

“Why? What do you even mean by that?”

 

“Well, you should tell him that you want to be his girlfriend.”

 

“I didn’t say that.”

 

“You said you wanted you to be together.”

 

“Ah,” I paused biting my lip. “I think we have different ideas of together.” I informed her and she looked confused for a moment before she grasped my meaning.

 

“You don’t want a relationship with him?” She asked looking a little hurt.

 

“I don’t know. I don’t know him well enough to say whether I do or not yet.”

 

“Oh, okay. Well that’s good then. Would you date him at least?”

 

“Definitely, that’s what I’m trying to work out how to do. We’re not really that friendly so I don’t have to worry about it getting awkward, I guess.” As I said this a small part of me twisted with nerves and sadness.

 

“Maybe you should ask him out on a date then?” Nanako said, shrugging as if the matter were solved now.

 

“But,” I started then froze as I realised why I had needed to talk this through with someone, I was worried about his reaction and needed a friend to help make my decision. I looked back at Nanako, however, and realised that she was apparently not the friend to help in this situation. “Thank you, Nanako. So what’s the problem with the evaluation?”

 

As Nanako ranted about her problem I swallowed my loneliness with hot chocolate and tried my hardest to listen and advise her as best I could. After an hour of talking with her and another drink I began to realise that my attempts to listen were futile. I interrupted her, faking illness, and left to go back to my flat.

 

It was silent and cold when I walked in, echoing my mind, and I quickly changed into a comfy set of pyjamas. Yanking the duvet off my bed, I shuffled to the sofa and got comfy as I scanned through Netflix on my laptop to find a film that would distract me for a little while. I decided on a rom-com I had seen at least ten times and allowed the familiarity to warm me but it did nothing to distract me. I knew why I was so down, this feeling of isolation was something I was all too familiar with in my life but I had fooled myself into thinking that Nanako was someone who cared about me and actually wanted to listen to what I had to say. I was angry at myself really for letting her in enough to hurt me.

 

As if it were angry at my lack of attention, my laptop made an odd _bing_ sound. When I looked at it I couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary but the sound seemed somewhat familiar to me, although I couldn’t place it. I sat up and picked it up off the coffee table, pausing the film and minimising the window. I saw an orange flash at the bottom of my desktop screen and clicked to find a message.

 

_Hi_

 

Was all it said and as I looked to the name, the same _bing_ sounded and I looked back to the message.

 

_It’s been hard._

 

It was Nick. My breath caught at the fact that he was actually getting back in touch with me. I had forgot that I’d even sent the message.

 

_I know_

 

I replied biting on my thumb nail.

 

_I don’t think you do._

He responded making me frown with a flash of anger.

 

_You broke up with me._

 

I responded, my hands beginning to shake.

 

Nick: _I know, but you moved to Japan!_

Hannah: _Because you broke up with me!_

Nick: _Who moves to the other side of the world because of that?!_

Hannah: _Me, apparently._

The conversation stopped for a moment.

 

Nick: _Good point._

And like that, I knew things would be okay between us at some point. That was the end of the conversation for that night but, as he always had been able to, Nick had managed to pick me up from my low and make me feel important and loved.


	13. Another Sleepless Night

_Ootori-san,_

_I appreciate your help finding the appropriate businesses to deal with the wedding. I have confirmed with the venue about my questions and been in touch with the businesses so everything is moving along smoothly. At the moment, there is nothing else I need your help with. You have already done more than was asked and it is deeply appreciated. Please let me know if there is anything else you would like me to do and I will do my best to be of service,_

_Brown Hannah._

I finished the email to Kyoya and sent it, rubbing my dry eyes with the heel of my hand. I looked at the time and saw that it was too late, or too early, to try to go to bed as I had several meetings in the morning, or in a few hours. Sighing, I stood and stretched then made my way to get a shower. As the warm water streamed down me, I was reminded of Mei and Ritsu’s party. I sighed wistfully at the thought that there would be no Takashi in the kitchen today. I tilted my head back so my hair hung free and an image of butterfly kisses on my neck shot through my mind making my head shoot up. After a moment of catching my breath I smiled and leant my head back again allowing the images to continue.

 

I lathered up my hair with shampoo as I remembered Takashi’s grip on my hips, imagined how that grip would feel from other angles and a shiver ran through my body instinctively. From the pressure and attentiveness of his kisses I got the impression he would be an exciting lover and that thought made my breath catch on a soft groan. I slapped the tiled wall in frustration and shook my head; these thoughts wouldn’t help anybody, least of all me. As if to taunt me further an image of my hand in a similar position shot through my mind and I recognised the tiles in the memory as those in the flat I had shared with Nick. My body jolted at the sudden reminder of Nick’s hands on my hips, their grip slippery with soap and water. Before I could consciously analyse this image, however, my body recognised that these were no longer Nick’s hands. They were larger, rougher, their grip firmer and more sure. They moved from my hips, whispering over my waist as his chest grazed mine.

 

I gasped as I was suddenly pelted with ice cold water and I automatically leaped out of the water flow, effectively knocked out of my far too inappropriate thoughts. The water went back to its normal temperature and I quickly finished my shower with a smile.

 

 

* * *

 

 

At midday I returned to my flat with a sigh after three meetings; one with my tutor that was annoyingly done in ten minutes, and two with businesses who would be handling Mei’s wedding. The florist had been a bit short but amiable enough when he realised I knew what I was talking about. The baker had been overly friendly, bowing regularly and demanding that I test all of the samples of cakes even after I informed her for the fifth time that I was not the one who would be making the decision about flavours. The plans for Mei’s wedding were moving a lot better than I’d originally expected and my tutor had earlier informed me that my next deadline would not be until the new year; so when Mei text to ask if I wanted to meet for dinner I was more than happy to accept even with no sleep.

 

Mei had wanted to meet at four and I knew that, after last night, I would sleep for at least ten hours tonight meaning that I shouldn’t take a nap. So, after making a tea, I made myself comfortable on my sofa, planning to catch up on some TV until I had to get ready.

 

Three hours later, I dragged my eyes away from the small screen on my laptop and forced myself to go to the bathroom where I wiped away my now smudged make up from earlier so that at dinner I didn’t look like a zombie even if I felt like one. I continued to watch my programme as I carefully applied fresh make up which meant that I was running late by the time the episode had finished and I had to get dressed. As I searched through my draws to find underwear I came across a matching set that I’d bought a long time ago but had no need to wear. I took a moment, pondering the red silk and black lace, and realised that as soon as I saw them, my body had decided for me. Apparently I didn’t care that I was only having dinner with a girlfriend, today my body was not going to let me forget its needs. I shimmied into the set, taking a moment to adjust the bra so it had its desired effect then pulled on a simple blood red wrap-around dress and matching strappy heels.

 

Before I could even check my reflection, there was an urgent knock at my door which I awkwardly jogged over to answer. Mei was stood on the other side looking exasperated as if being one minute late was torture but her look quickly changed as she examined my outfit.

 

“What?” I asked concerned as her eyes almost fell out of her head.

 

“Nice outfit,” She replied, attempting to hide a grin.

 

“Should I change?” I asked, she’d never acted like this before and I was worried that I’d made a bad choice.

 

“No!” She practically screamed making me jump.

 

“Okay,” I mumbled as I swallowed around heart which had leapt into my throat.

 

“Actually, why don’t we stay here for a little bit and chat. The table isn’t booked until five.” She rushed as I went to grab my bag. I nodded and smiled at her as I sprayed on some perfume then joined her sitting on my sofa.

 

“I met with the florist and baker this morning and both seem great. The flower order is sorted but I need you and Ritsu at some point to come to the baker to pick what flavours you would like.” I informed Mei, easily slipping into conversation. Her face lit up at this and a part of me idly thought about how naturally pretty she was.

 

“That’s amazing. We love the venue as well, Kyoya took us the other day. My dress and Ritsu’s suit are nearly ready too. I can’t believe it’s only a few weeks away now.” She replied, her hazel eyes sparkling with excitement. After a moment, her phone buzzed; she quickly replied to her message and her signature smirk began to grow across her face. I assumed it was Ritsu and shrugged off her look, waiting for her to carry on the conversation.

 

“Oh, what happened to you the other day? I didn’t see or hear from you for nearly a week?” She asked her smirking shifting to a slight frown. I knew she meant the period following my meeting with Nanako and I bit my lip in indecision. Mei noticed my action and her frown deepened with concern, which made my decision.

 

“I need to tell you something,” I said to Mei and explained about Takashi’s training sessions and our reasoning for not telling her or anyone for that matter. I then explained about my meeting with Nanako, her reaction and then how that made me feel. Mei remained silent so I continued with my account of my conversation with Nick.

 

“I’m sorry I didn’t get in touch with you. I just needed a bit of me time. Nanako’s reaction really upset me.” I finally said after Mei had been silent for a few minutes for a few minutes when I’d finished.

 

“Wait, I don’t understand,” Mei starts and then paused.

 

“About the Sundays?” I asked.

 

“No, I knew about that.”

 

“What? What do you mean you knew?” I demanded and Mei’s eyes went wide for a moment.

 

“Nothing. I don’t understand why you were upset at Nanako.” She quickly changed the subject but I sealed the information away in the back of my mind.

 

“Well, I think that I thought she really cared about me and when she brushed off my worry it showed me that she doesn’t care the way I thought she did. It just hit home I think.”

 

“That’s stupid!” Mei snorted making me stare at her in bewilderment. “Just because she didn’t react the way you wanted her to doesn’t mean she doesn’t care; it just means that she’s a bit thick. It’s your fault for not telling her the truth.”

 

“I did!” I replied indignantly. I wasn’t used to Mei’s harsh commentary.

 

“No, you didn’t! You clearly care about him and you’re not admitting to her or yourself that you do. You didn’t tell her the truth so how could she give you a response that would help you? She’s not the only one who’s a bit thick.” Mei knocked my forehead at this but I was too busy thinking to flinch. What Mei said, I realised, was completely true. It wasn’t Nanako’s fault that I’d expected her to respond a certain way and she hadn’t. That didn’t mean that she didn’t care, it just meant that she didn’t see things the way I’d wanted her to.

 

“Let me see this conversation with Nick,” Mei insisted, gesturing her hand towards my laptop. I shrugged and obliged her before grabbing a glass of water.

 

“Now _that_ is selfish!” She grumbled as she placed my laptop back on the coffee table with a sneer.

 

“Yeah, he was always a little selfish.” I replied with a nod.

 

“Why did that make you feel better? What the hell is wrong with you?”

 

“It made me feel like someone understood me. I don’t know, now I think about it I think I was just happy to get some positive attention.”

 

“How desperate are you?”

 

“I’m not desperate!” I replied but the earlier images that flashed into my mind called me a liar. “Well, not when it comes to Nick.” I corrected then instantly regretted it as Mei’s eyes went wide.

 

“Oh? And who are you desperate for?” She teased and with that, any lingering doubt and negativity from the past week evaporated.

 

 


	14. I Wasn't Expecting That

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, here are warnings: there be smutty things in this here chapter and in most going forward.  
> As always, would love any feedback and thanks for reading <3

Mei dragged me to a dimly lit Italian restaurant a few streets from our building just after five. I slowed as we entered the restaurant but frowned as Mei continued at her earlier speed to a table where two people already sat. My frown grew as I recognised that one of the people was Honey and Mei definitely did not look surprised to see him. Knowing exactly who the other person at the table was I discretely adjusted my outfit before they could see.

 

“Hannah, look! It’s Honey and Mori. What a coincidence!” Mei exclaimed breathlessly as I reached her side. I glared at her quickly before turning a smile to the other two. The way Honey was grinning at me made me feel like I’d played right into their little trap.

 

“Hannah-chan, you look super cute!” Honey insisted and I couldn’t help the part of me that rebelled.

 

“Thank you, but I wasn’t really going for cute.” I mumbled but Honey ignored me.

 

“Takashi, doesn’t she look super cute?” Honey was now dragging Takashi into the conversation but I refused to look at him as my earlier thoughts assailed me. He “hmm” ‘d in response and that rebellious part of me pouted.

 

“Hannah-chan, you should sit next to Takashi so Mei-chan can sit next to me!” Honey instructed but before I could sit down Mei interrupted.

 

“No, Hannah should sit where you are, Honey!” Mei argued and I let out an aggravated sigh at their obvious plans for Takashi and I. As both reared up for an argument I brushed past Mei and took the seat next to Honey, placing me diagonally across from Takashi.

 

“I think I’ll sit here.” I informed them and I caught Takashi’s subtle grin out the corner of my eye as he busied himself with the menu. I flicked my hair over my shoulder in annoyance and decided that my being both kinds of frustrated was definitely not a good idea so I copied Takashi and perused the menu, attempting to relax. After a moment or two of silence, I was calm enough to listen in to the conversation between Mei and Honey.

After several failed attempts to join their conversation I allowed my eyes to wander. They fell onto Takashi who was still staring stubbornly at his menu with a slight pout to his lips. Once again, I was assailed by images of his hands on my hips while I toyed with those pouting lips, caressing them with my tongue as his hands slid lower to my –

 

“Hannah, what do you think?” Mei asked without even looking at me. My eyes shot to her blankly as I didn’t have a clue what she’d been talking about. When I didn’t respond Mei looked up at me in aggravation. “What are you having?” She demanded.

 

“Erm,” I said breathlessly and quickly swallowed as my mouth was suddenly dry. “I think I’ll have the salmon ravioli.” I said after another quick scan of the menu.

 

“Takashi, what are you having?” Honey asked with a slight bounce in his seat. Takashi’s response was a swift glare at Honey who remained oblivious before he shrugged. Clearly someone else was annoyed but I just hoped he was annoyed at Honey. Everything had been going well between the two of us; conversations had been easy enough and there had been no tension. I saw Mei shoot a few looks between Honey and Takashi before grabbing Honey’s attention.

 

“I’m just going to the bathroom,” she declared while staring intently at Honey who just smiled and nodded at her making her visibly irritated.

 

“Honey, she wants you to go to with her. She’s not actually going to the bathroom but she wants to talk to you without us overhearing.” I informed the small blond next to me making them both blush as I admitted my knowledge of their plan. Takashi chuckled softly as Honey shot up from the table and they walked away from the table shooting glances back at the two of us and whispering furtively.

 

“Hello,” I said after a moment of silence. Takashi slowly raised his eyes to mine with a wry smile. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” I offered with a nod of my head toward Honey and Mei.

“It’s not your fault.” He said. His stormy eyes held mine captive for a few breathless moments and I could feel a gentle pressure against the back of my hand that lay on the table that I recognised as Takashi’s hand. The pressure intensified briefly before his eyes burned a slow, torturous trail down my body. His hand over mine moved and turned mine underneath it so my palm was up for him to tease with a long finger. My eyes were captured once more as that finger whispered across the hammering pulse in my wrist. Before I could gain control of my foggy mind, my foot searched for his leg under the table then snaked itself to caress the back of his calf making his eyes flash silver.

 

Takashi’s attention shifted over my shoulder and his hand withdrew from my now tingling flesh, signalling that Honey and Mei were on their way back. Feeling flirtatious still, though, my foot continued it journey over Takashi’s lower leg under the table. Mei sat down opposite me but Honey stayed standing.

 

“Reiko called me, I have to go. She’s okay, she just wants my help with something so I’m going home. Bye.” Honey explained almost too quickly for me to understand. Before Takashi or I could say anything he’d already grabbed his bag and coat and was halfway to the door. I turned a hard stare on Mei who was giving me her signature smirk. Not so shockingly, her phone then began to ring. She answered it, still smirking at me and spoke down the phone in such a fake tone of surprise it was clearly intentional.

 

“Oh no, looks like I have to go too.” She informed us as she collected her things then made her way to the door with an arrogant wave over her shoulder.

 

“I’m going to kill her.” I growled, my foot completely frozen against Takashi’s leg. I felt Takashi’s hand on mine again and I looked over to him.

 

“We should go.” Takashi said and the mercurial heat of his eyes went straight to my core. I nodded, my mouth too dry to talk. I saw him place some money on the table as I collected my bag then moved to join him. When I reached his side, Takashi grasped my hand in his and led me out the door and in the direction of my flat. The silence held a tension so electric that it made my heart race and my skin break out in goose bumps.

 

We entered a door and I realised it was my building. I was impressed he had managed to find his way from the restaurant as he’d only been here a handful of times. As we reached the open lift, he turned to look at me and I reached out to hit the button for my floor. Fortunately, the silence and mountain of tension passed quickly and I let go of Takashi’s hand to search through my bag for my flat keys. As I fumbled my keys into the door, I considered if this was what I really wanted but when I felt familiar hands glide over my waist my heart sighed and I knew the decision had been made the first moment I’d looked into his eyes. One shallow breath later, the door was open and I was stepping inside, Takashi following me.

 

I turned, closing the door with my back and then leaning against it, willing my thudding pulse to calm down. I found no such reprieve, however, as Takashi was stood only a foot in front of me, those grey eyes once again capturing my own. In my mind I knew that my eyes would be begging for his kiss, his touch but I couldn’t move; I was a deer and his eyes were the headlights. As his head came down, mine tipped back and my eyes fluttered closed, eagerly awaiting the pressure of his lips on mine but I was left disappointed. Out of nowhere I felt his breath on the sensitive skin of my neck and my breath caught as his lips kissed a tender trail to my jaw where he paused. I opened my eyes to see him gazing into them.

 

“You are definitely not cute,” he growled as his thumb teased my lower lip, his free arm placed against the small off my back and urging my body into his.

 

“Oh?” I breathed, quirking up an eyebrow.

 

“Definitely not cute,” He whispered, his mouth only an inch from away and his hand moved from my lips to grab my hair and pull my head back even more. Before I could blink, his lips claimed my own as his hands pressed our bodies together. My breath escaped me on a moan when his fingers on my back spread then pressed even harder so that the remaining inch of space between our hips was closed. As my mouth opened, his tongue caressed my lower lip before melding with my own in a fierce battle. My heart was beginning to pound, my legs getting week so I latched onto Takashi’s narrow hips in an attempt to stabilise myself but feeling his muscles twitch under my hands made me throb all the more. I took his bottom lip between my teeth making him growl in a way that vibrated through my entire body and washed away any semblance of inhibitions.

 

Takashi’s hand left my hair to trail down the side of my body before meeting his other, resting in the curve of my back, then both trailing lower to curve over me and grip me through my dress. I let out a squeal as his hands lifted me off the ground and I instinctively wrapped my legs around his waist. I felt his chuckle against my core as he pressed me against the door with his hands still holding me in the air. My hands began to trail up his hard body, clutching onto his button up shirt to pull it out of the waist line of his trousers. When I reached neck I made my way back down again, undoing each button as I went.

 

His chest was bare for my enjoyment and my hands explored greedily, occasionally lightly scraping my nails along the soft, taught flesh. His stomach muscles twitched against my core when I gently grazed his waist with my knuckles. His lips left mine and I let out an involuntary whimper that turned into a moan as they met my neck, suckling the tender skin in a harsh marking. My entire body felt like one pulsing fire and I couldn’t help my shallow breathing when his torturous kisses moved lower to the bare, creamy skin of my breasts but stopped at the deep line of my dress.

 

“Take it off,” he ordered, his already deep voice so low and roughened with desire that I’d have been frightened in any other situation, but now it only made me want him more. Impatient, he slipped his hands beneath the soft material while I wriggled and managed to tug it over my head, grinning at his sharp intake of breath. Now my lace underwear was the only barrier that remained between his demanding hands and my bare body. I felt cold without my dress and his body heat but I allowed him to examine my semi-naked body as the hungry look in his eyes grew.

 

“Definitely not cute,” he mumbled again, his eyes shooting back to mine and making me shiver with their intensity. His lips crushed mine again with a deep groan as one hand moved to cup a breast, softly kneading it through the cup of my bra and fanning the fire within me. Again, his lips left mine and moved to my breasts, eagerly exploring the exposed skin with his lips, tongue and teeth. My hands gripped his shoulders for support and my hips began to grind of their own accord, searching for something to put out the fire. The hand that was still holding me up guided my hips so that we caressed each other. Feeling his hard length against me erased the part of me that wanted to continue the teasing and I gasped his name. His eyes snapped to mine when I said his name and I took the opportunity to slide my legs from around his waist, shakily putting my weight back on them.  I took the hand that had held me to him in my own and slowly lead the way to my bedroom.

 

Turning, I felt the pressure of my bed frame against the back of my knees and I pulled him the rest of the way towards me by grabbing the collar of his unbuttoned shirt. With a hand on the back of his neck, I pulled his mouth back to mine, my tongue skimming over his sensitive bottom lip, and felt him shudder. Easing back just enough so my breath whispered over his lips.

 

 “I want you.” I purred, looking up at him from beneath my lashes.

 

“Get on the bed.” He ordered without taking his eyes off me. Obeying, I tucked my legs under me so I was kneeling on the bed still facing him. He shrugged off his open shirt as he stepped toward me. He was now in front of me, tilting my head back with a hand under my chin to keep our eyes locked together. His hand slid from my chin to tenderly grip my throat, an action that was foreign yet thoroughly exhilarating. I knew he would be able to feel my pulse under his fingers as it screamed out for him. As if to calm it, he traced my jugular with his thumb, but this only succeeded in making it race more.

 

My hands worked their way through the obstacle of his trousers, undoing his belt and then his fly before pushing them to the floor where Takashi expertly kicked off his shoes then stepped out his trousers. Our eyes were still locked together as my hands explored the muscles of his lower back and stomach. He remained perfectly still during my exploration, save his thumb, that continued to whisper along my throat. I teasingly fingered the elastic of his boxers before slowly pushing them to the ground and allowing my hands to trace the contours of his hips. He froze, his grip tightening slightly around my throat sending a sharp thrill through me. I watched his eyes carefully as my hands found the part of him that I craved and I saw them flash silver before growing dark. His breath became heavy and his hand twitched on my throat as I began to tease his throbbing member, his reaction making a satisfied grin form over my lips. My mouth began to water as I watched him enjoy my touch and, moving on instinct, I broke our eye contact and bent my head to take him into my mouth. I was instantly rewarded by a sharp hiss of approval from him and the hand around my throat moving to grab my hair, adding gentle pressure which encouraged my movements.

 

Before I had time to really enjoy the taste of him, he pulled my head away from him and pushed me onto my back. I opened my mouth to protest but was interrupted by his weight in between legs.

 

“I need to be inside you,” he explained roughly as he undid the clasp on my bra and threw it to the side once it was free. In response I shifted, twisting to reach the top draw of the nightstand, pulling out a condom and handing it to him. He made quick work of it and was already pulling at my pants before I knew it. I obligingly lifted my hips and he yanked them away from me as fast as he could, making me chuckle slightly at his eagerness, although I was just as eager. His hands grabbed onto my hips and pulled me towards him. Feeling his thighs against me I lifted myself so I was in his lap, pressing against his hardness and making him grin in approval at me. I wrapped my legs around him as he teased my hot core with his hard length.

 

His eyes locked onto mine again and my breath left me in anticipation. I could feel his long, rough fingers exploring my wetness. He easily slid two fingers inside me making me gasp and buck in pleasure and his grin grew at my reaction. His warm fingers teased me slowly as his eyes held mine before he sped up his movements. The way he looked at me made me feel like I was an experiment and he was taking careful note of each shift in my behaviour; but I was more than happy to take part if this is what I had to do. The faster his fingers moved, the more I struggled to keep eye contact as my eyes tried to roll into the back of my head, especially when he hit a particular spot deep inside. Takashi noticed as I tensed when he reached it and pressed into it, harshly flicking his fingers. Any sounds that I was making completely stopped as my stomach dropped and my mind shattered. After what felt like an eternity of silence my lungs allowed me to breathe again and a sound escaped my tight throat that was somewhere between a scream and someone strangling a cat. I heard Takashi chuckle in satisfaction at my reaction to his discovery but with his continued torture there was no way I was able to think about the odd sound I just or made or anything other than remembering to breathe.

 

“Are you ready?” He whispered into my ear moving his fingers even faster inside of me.

 

“Oh god, yes!” I shouted, half of me wanting it to end and the other crying with joy. Before I could think, his fingers left me and I could finally breathe again. I gulped down a few breaths before he thrust himself deep inside me. A sharp pain rolled through me as I became accustomed to his size but it quickly subsided when he began to rock his hips against mine with a look of pure bliss on his face. I tightened my legs around him, lifting up my hips slightly. My move was rewarded with a deep moan from him as he thrust himself even deeper inside me. His hands latched onto my hips once again, holding me in place as he moved against me, his movements becoming faster and more forceful. I reached for something to grab onto with my hands but only found pillows so gave up and grabbed onto his shoulders. As his thrusts became more demanding my nails dug into his back against my will but he didn’t seem to notice. The pace made my head spin from lack of oxygen as we both climbed higher, his thrusts now being accentuated by my gasps for air. Unbelievably, he sped up even more, tilting my hips for his pleasure and making my toes curl as my eyes finally succeed in rolling into the back of my head. I felt his thumb press into me and my entire body shook from the force of my climax and I gripped onto him like my life depended on it. Still he continued to press his thumb against me as his thrusts became careless until he finally froze, every muscle in his body tight, then collapsed onto me with a gravelly sigh.

 


	15. Rice Omelette

My silky, kimono-style dressing gown hugged my curves as I poured out two glasses of orange juice. I turned and placed one on the kitchen side next to where Takashi stood and took a long sip from the other. Takashi’s hand caressed the exposed skin on top of my breast with a frown. I looked down and noticed a slight bruise, but where Takashi responded with worry, my only response was exhilaration.

 

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, his hand dropping to his side.

 

“For what?” I asked. “For this?” I pointed at the spot he’d just touched. He nodded but his eyes wouldn’t meet mine.

 

“I should go,” he said after a moment and I rolled my eyes.

 

“Takashi, stop being dramatic. You didn’t hurt me. Besides, you should at least stay for some food, neither of us have eaten after all.” He still refused to look at me as I said this. I took his hand in one of mine while the other turned his chin to me.

 

“Please, look at me.” I whispered then waited for his eyes to meet mine. “You have nothing to feel bad about. I’ll make you a deal, if you hurt me or I want you to stop, I’ll say so. Okay?” I watched his face soften as he gave a slight nod.

 

I stepped back over to my orange juice and quickly said, “Well, I mean, if it ever happens again then I will.” I took a deep breath with my back to him when I felt a heat crawling up my neck. I frowned to myself as I rubbed the now warm spot, I hadn’t blushed since I was fifteen and even then I don’t think it showed.

 

“So,” I sighed, turning back to face him and putting my big-girl boots back on, attempting to quell my inner teenager. “What would you like. I cannot be arsed with cooking so do you mind if we order in?” My eyes met his and we paused for a moment then he smiled slightly and shrugged.

 

“I can cook.” He replied making me pause again. I’d never had a guy cook for me before and I quite liked the idea. I gave him a nod with a slight smile.

 

“Help yourself,” I offered with a gesture to my small fridge-freezer.

 

“What would you like?” He asked me as he began to look through my food.

 

“I don’t really mind, I have simple tastes so nothing too crazy, please.” I could just see the side of his face from where I was stood as he stooped over to look in my freezer and I saw the corner of his mouth twitch up. “What was that for?” I asked with a slight chuckle.

 

He looked over his shoulder at me, his eyes pointedly trailing down my body before shrugging in response. “I see you’re getting arrogant, Morinozuka-san, be careful …” I let my sentence hand in the air for comedic effect and I heard a soft breath of a laugh from him. He stood and turned back to face me, crossing his arms over his broad chest.

 

“Or what?” He asked with a familiar mischievous glint in his eyes and I bit my lip to try to stop from smiling.

 

“Or,” I again paused for effect as I took a few steps towards him, my gaze still holding his. I watched with satisfaction as his eyes became warmer with desire and relished in his attention for a moment before continuing. “Or I’ll have to tickle you!” I shrieked as I ran my hands quickly but gently over his ribs and waist.  His hips jerked away from me as he feebly tried to escape from my tickles and his breathing became shallow with laughter and spasms. I chuckled in triumph as I ran around the kitchen counter, so it was between us.

 

I looked up with a grin but quickly squealed and began running again as I saw he was already moving toward me. I couldn’t help the loud laugh that escaped as his arm wrapped around my waist from behind, effectively locking me against him. Although the majority of me was melting at the contact I still struggled and managed to budge his arm an inch or so away from me.

“I’ll get you back for that.” He growled in my ear and I could hear the chuckle under it. I laughed again as I felt his lips against the side of my neck but my smile quickly died when he lifted my feet off the ground. My breath became panicked as my entire body tensed in response to Takashi lifting me. I felt him still behind me and gently place my feet on the floor again.

 

“Are you okay?” He asked as he walked around me to gaze into my eyes with concern. My heart warmed at the look he gave me and my panic quickly faded.

 

“Sorry. I just really hate being picked up.” I informed him with a soft smile.

 

“I picked you up earlier.” He reminded me.

 

“Oh yeah,” I mumbled. “I was probably just too distracted.”

 

He held my gaze for a moment longer, assessing my answer then nodded his head and went to make food.

 

 

*  *  *

 

 

“Are you sure I can’t help?” I asked Takashi, leaning over the kitchen counter. He gave me an impatient look that told me he wouldn’t tell me to sit down again. I chuckled then padded back to sofa, tucking my legs, clad in fluffy socks and a cosy pair of pyjama bottoms, under me. I rolled up the sleeves of my large jumper to my elbows before grabbing my tea and my laptop.

 

“Shall we watch a film? I only have my laptop though I hope that’s okay.” I heard him “hmm” and took that as an affirmative. I began to search through Netflix but found nothing that really interested me. Putting my laptop back on the coffee table, I went through to my room and pulled out a draw in my dresser to find a small selection of DVD’s that I’d been able to bring with me. After a moment, I decided on a film but thought I’d check if the decision was okay first so went back to the kitchen.

“Have you ever seen The Lord of the Rings Trilogy?” I asked Takashi who was focused on a frying pan. His gaze shifted to me for a second then back to the pan before he shook his head.

 

“Would you like to? You can say no.” I asked him. He grinned at me quickly before nodding. With a small smile I put the disc in my laptop, then sat back to wait for Takashi.

 

Two minutes later, Takashi came in carrying two plates with what looked like an omelette on them. I thanked him as he handed me my plate and a fork then started the film. My first bite of food surprised me; I never ate omelettes as I wasn’t that big of a fan but this one tested light and fresh. When I finished my mouthful I looked down to see what looked like rice on the plate. I gave Takashi a sideways look and found already a quarter into his meal. I took a deep breath as I put some rice and egg on my fork then shrugged as I realised it wasn’t too bad and continued with the meal.

 

The food was tasty and surprising filling but all of the attention in the room was on the film. I kept looking to Takashi to make sure he was enjoying it and found his eyes slightly widened and fixed firmly on the small screen. His reaction made me smile slightly as I really loved these films and was glad he seemed to be enjoying them too. As Frodo and Sam began their solo journey I piled the plates and took them through to the kitchen to wash up. I found that the pans Takashi had used had already been cleaned and put away. When I was done, I sat back next to him on the sofa but he still didn’t seem to notice me.

 

“The food was lovely, thank you very much.” I said to him with a soft smile. I seemed to have surprised him as his eyes widened slightly at the sound of my voice before he nodded in reply. “Are you okay?” I asked with concern, although he tended to be quiet he was always observant.

 

After a moment of him thinking he asks, “Why did Boromir want the ring? He agreed to protect it. Why did he break his promise?”

 

“He wasn’t strong enough to resist it.”

“He was the Prince. Why was he not strong enough?”

 

“The ring corrupts almost everyone. It was forged with the purpose of corrupting everyone and it does its job well.”

 

“It obeys its master. I understand. I don’t understand how the small one can resist when Boromir could not.”

 

“Boromir did resist the pull of the ring in the end though. When Frodo put the ring on and escaped, Boromir realised what he had done. That’s why he fought so hard to allow Frodo to escape and to save the other hobbits.”

 

Takashi frowned in thought and I couldn’t help but smile at his reaction. I was glad that he was so invested in the film and seemed to be so upset, it was nice to finally find someone who would gladly sit and talk about a film with me.

 

“Is there more?” He suddenly turns to ask me with a slightly eager expression.

 

“Yes, there are two more films.”

 

“Can we watch them?”

 

“Of course. Maybe not tonight though, they are a few hours long each and it’s already nearly nine. I mean, I have nothing to do tomorrow so I don’t mind but won’t you have work?”

 

“I don’t mind,” he shrugs with a slight grin. A thought occurs to me and I take a deep breath before asking him.

 

“Do you want to stay tonight?” His grin grew at my question and he nodded in response.

 

“Shall we watch the next one in bed?”  I ask, again receiving a nod in response, so move the laptop through to the bedroom.


	16. A Dream

_Arms clutched me around my waist, making it hard to breathe. I could hear crying and screaming. I tasted metal. My breath became shallower._  
  
A bright, white light flashed in my eyes. I turned away. I didn't want to wake up.  
  
My throat hurt. I could feel the tears starting to fall.   
  
I felt a warm hand on my face. I opened my eyes slowly.  
  
The light blinded me for a moment. I blinked and a face began to form above me.  
  
My eyes blinked open to see the soft dawn light slipping around the edges of my curtains. I stared at the light for a moment, allowing myself to come back to reality after such a powerful dream. On a deep, shaky breath I turned my head to see Takashi lay behind me and a soft jolt of recognition shot through me. I shifted as gently as possible, I didn't want to wake him, so that I was lay on my side facing him.   
  
His face was gentle in sleep but held a natural strength that demanded attention. His jaw was straight and defined but his lips were almost pouting in his relaxed state. His nose was sharp, with a slight curve that added to the softness but contrasted his high brow that naturally curved into a haughty look. A few strands of coal black hair had fallen into his face and I couldn't stop my hand that reached out to move them. I lingered, allowing my fingers to lightly explore the silky strands. I felt, rather than heard, him grumble in his sleep, making me smile slightly. My fingers continued their exploration as I let my mind wander.  
  
Last night's dream had really hit me. I could still feel the pressure of those arms around me even though it had been nearly twenty years ago. I could remember the face that those arms belonged to. I remembered how much he'd made me cry and the taste of blood in my mouth that stopped me from crying anymore. I remember how my mum clung to me, her small body shaking with sobs after she'd won custody of me. I remembered how my older brothers had welcomed me into their home after years of not really knowing me. I remembered how I finally felt safe, at the age of nine, when I knew that I would never have to see my father again.  
  
My eyes flickered closed for a moment as I thanked whatever the hell was out there that I'd had people who cared enough to save me. When I opened my eyes I found myself staring into dark grey ones.   
  
His mouth quirked up in one corner, making me smile in reply. "Good morning," I whispered.   
  
"Good morning," he replied. His eyes continued to stare into mine as his face softened into a sleepy smile.   
  
"What?" I asked. His smile flashed slightly before he pulled me towards him, his lips covering mine as gasped in surprise. My gasp quickly turned into a sigh of pleasure as his weight shifted over me, my legs instinctively spreading to either side of him. His lips left mine to trail down my throat with light nibbles against the sensitive skin. Warmth quickly spread through me as he pulled the straps of my nightie down to explore my breast. My breath was already shallow as his hand found its way to the pool of heat at the centre of my body, making me gasp when one long finger dove inside to find my wetness. His finger and mouth left, and I felt him lean to the side to open a draw. Before I could even blink he was waiting at my entrance and his mouth was back on mine.   
  
I rocked my hips up to slide him into me, pulling back slightly then forward again to pull him in deeper, receiving a satisfying groan from him. His mouth locked onto mine as he took over, one hand holding my hips in place while the other held him up. As the tension began to build, I grinned against his demanding lips before rolling us over so that he was under me. I took a second to be impressed at my skills and the fact that he was still inside me. He grinned up at me with that increasingly familiar mischievous twinkle in his eyes and I suddenly fell forward as his hips bucked up underneath me. I managed to stop myself from smashing my face into his with my hands on either side of his grinning face.  
  
"We need to work on your stance," he whispered as his hands reached down to grab my ass. I glared at him even though I couldn't help the growing smile on my face, however any coherent thoughts left me as began to thrust his hips from underneath me, his hands holding me in place. The tension quickly began to rise and I took my frustration out on his neck and shoulders with my teeth and mouth. My body tensed around him as I the tension was finally released and he quickly joined me in bliss.   
  
We breathed heavily, my arm and leg thrown over him from where I'd fallen to the side. One of Takashi's hands gently traced the length of my arm while the other arm was wrapped around me, the hand still placed on my bum.   
  
"What time is it?" I mumbled, not really wanting this piece to end. Takashi frowned after a short pause then left my arm to reach for his phone.  
  
"Seven, nearly," he replied then put his phone back down, returning to trace my arm again. I could feel my eyes growing heavy and I remembered that I hadn't slept yesterday. Takashi's chest was warm under my cheek, his heartbeat so soft and rhythmic that I quickly began to fall asleep.   
  
  
                                                            * * * *  
  
An insistent ringing had my arm reaching for my phone but it wasn't in its usual place.  
  
"It's mine," came Takashi's deep voice and I could feel it vibrating under my cheek as he shifted to grab his phone. "Go back to sleep," he whispered as moved himself from under me, gently placing my cheek on a pillow. "Hello?" I heard him say before he shut the bedroom door behind him. I turned my head away from the bright light peeking through my curtains and got comfy.  
  
Time! A thought shouted in my mind, making my eyes shoot open as I launched for my phone, now knowing where it was. I checked the time to find that I'd gone back to sleep for more than four hours as it was now 11.40. I quickly got out of bed, rearranging my nightie which I only just realised was fully around my waist and only covering my belly button.   
  
Leaving the bedroom, I found Takashi on my sofa with his phone to his ear and a bored look on his face. I caught his attention and did a drinking motion at him, at which he nodded and mouthed "tea" in response. I breathed a deep sigh as I set about making tea and remembered how 24 hours ago I was wishing that Takashi would be in the kitchen waiting for me to get out of the shower. Now I was wishing I knew what the hell had happened yesterday. And today, I reminded myself with a slight grin. I suppressed a shiver of pleasure as my mind went over the events with Takashi.  
  
My mind paused on one image though making me miss the kettle boiling. I could see his eyes in front of me still, feel his hair in between my fingers, the warmth from his body next to mine. I couldn't help the sigh that escaped my mouth but it quickly shook me out of my daydream, like a bucket of cold water. I poured the water into the mugs and busied myself with making the tea and finding something for breakfast. I took the tea through to Takashi, placing my mug on the coffee table next to him, just as he finished on his call. My stomach clenched as he smiled at me and I mentally flagged the feeling for further inspection at a later date.   
  
"Everything alright?" I asked to which he nodded. "Sorry I fell asleep." I apologised, still stood awkwardly on the other side of the coffee table from him.   
  
"So did I." He replied with a shrug and smile. "It was nice."   
  
I could feel my heart sigh at his comment and the look he was giving me that told me he had enjoyed it just as much. I smiled at him softly before I realised again what the time was.  
  
"Do you need to leave quickly? I can make you some toast."  
  
"No, I don't have anything important today." He replied, his stormy eyes still holding mine.  
  
"Okay, well, in that case, what would you like for breakfast ... or lunch, I guess?" My sarcastic comment was rewarded with a flash of a smile from him, making me chuckle in response.   
  
"Will you spend the day with me?" He asked me after a moment.   
  
I felt my mouth fall open as if to respond but all I could hear was my inner teenager screaming in excitement at the thought of what this meant. When I saw the smile on his face I knew I'd said yes, without even meaning to, but I hardly wanted to turn him down.


	17. A Day Out

Takashi had left after drinking his tea and giving me a kiss which had sent my heart racing. He'd given me an hour and a half to get ready while he went home and changed. I definitely didn't have time to wash my hair, which took at least an hour and a half to air dry and I couldn't use a hairdryer on it, so I quickly washed and started to put on my make-up.

I did a soft pink look on my eyes with a subtle eyeliner, my not-too-heavy foundation and a touch of dusky rose lipstick that was just a few shades darker than my natural lip colour. 30 minutes left. I rifled through my wardrobe checking over several dresses and skirts as I could already hear the wind outside. I finally landed on a pair of dark wash, wide leg jeans that I thought would do the job. I went back through to try to find a top that would work with them and found a loose button up shirt in a purple plaid and a tunic style black V-neck that came in at the waist and had long flowy sleeves.

 _The bra will decide_ , I thought, throwing both shirts onto my unmade bed and yanking open my underwear drawer. My favourite matching set of red satin under black lace had been worn yesterday, only to be thrown somewhere in the room later. There was a possibility of a similar scenario so I wanted to feel good about the underwear but it couldn't be too much in case we did a lot of walking. I found a comfy but cute pair of black knickers that came up high on my hips with lace hems and decided to wear my trusty bra that had a wide band and slightly padded cups. Although they weren't matching, I knew they were good so I quickly changed into them and started thinking about the shirt. A quick glance in the mirror told me I was having a good boob day so I went for the black V-neck. That same glance also told me that I was not having a good hair day so I spent my last ten minutes fixing my hair into the perfect French plait.

At exactly the time we'd agreed on, there was a knock on my door. I couldn't help the small skip I did on my way to answer it and the resulting grin when I found Takashi on the other side.

"I just need to put my shoes on and then I'm ready." I informed him as I left the door open to go back into my room. I picked up a pair of socks and my purple trainers. I knew they didn't go but I didn't care, they were comfy and I loved them. Moving back to sit on my sofa, I smiled at Takashi in the doorway as I put my shoes and socks on.

"Let's go," I sang, grabbing my handbag and shoving my keys into it as we left.

 

 

* * * *

 

 "I can't wait to see the cherry blossoms." I mumbled to myself as Takashi and I made our way through Kansen-en park, which I walked through most days to get to University. The previously lush green leaves were just starting to turn and fall.

 

"Why?" Takashi asked, surprising me. I looked over my shoulder at him to see him gazing at me with a slight frown. My mouth automatically opened to start to tell him why I was so excited about the cherry blossoms but an image of me telling a similar story to Nick and his eyes glazing over had me pause.

"They're supposed to be pretty, I guess." I shrugged in response. I instantly felt Takashi's hand on my elbow, trying to turn me towards him.

"Why?" He asked again when I was facing him and an annoyed voice in my head wondered how he had guessed.

"It's a bit of a long story, and I can get carried away. I don't want to bore you." I explained and started moving down the path again.

"Okay." He responded, nudging me gently with his elbow to signal me to continue. I looked at him once more nervously but the calm, interested look on his face made my decision.

“When I first learnt about Japanese theatre, I learnt about Noh and the cultural developments of the Muromachi period.” I paused to look at him to make sure he was following, the calm look he gave me encouraged me to continue. “Buddhism seemed to be so deeply integrated into the culture of the time, well, and Shinto, and it fascinated me. That’s a lot of what I did my masters on. The philosophies behind Buddhism especially really impacted the cultural developments so I looked into them more. I remember reading this book about the cherry blossoms and evanescence and _aware_ and thinking “This is exactly it!”. It was a feeling that I’d experienced before, _aware,_ I mean, you know when you look at something and all of a sudden you realise that nothing lasts forever and you get this weird … feeling. _Aware_ , I guess. I’d never heard it described before and to see it written down in such an eloquent way and describing something so popular like the _sakura_ … it blew my mind.”  At this I paused again, I looked over to him nervously realising I started to ramble. My nerves went up a notch when I found him staring at the ground as we walked. I quickly apologised, moving my eyes to the ground also and trying not to think about how awkward this was.

"My family have always been Buddhist so it's something I grew up with   I didn't realise other people wouldn't understand until we went to a temple with Tamaki. I talked to Mitsukuni about it after and I found that he didn't really care." My head shot up as soon as he started speaking. This was probably the most he had said to me at once and it made my heart sigh. His eyes were still on the ground but this time I saw the slight pout to his lips that showed he was thinking about what to say so I waited for him to continue. "I wasn't angry," he began after a long pause. "just surprised. We were brought up together but his opinion was so different to mine."

“Surely that’s a good thing?” I asked him, my automatic instinct was to hug him but I didn’t think that that would actually help. He finally lifted his eyes with a warm smile and a nod, letting me release a breath I hadn’t realised I was holding.

“Are you Buddhist?” He asked me after we walked for a little while longer, we were almost at the other end of the park.

“I’m not anything. I’m not religious.” The honesty of his earlier story about Mitsukuni made me elaborate, sharing another piece of myself in the process. “Some days I think I haven’t been lucky enough to find faith and others I’m glad that I haven’t, especially when it comes to Christianity.”

“Why?” He asked again, turning me again and gesturing to a bench just off the path. As we walked towards the bench, I thought about my answer and how much I was willing to say.

“I try to have a positive outlook on the world and most of the time I succeed, obviously I’m not perfect with it but I try. I think if I attributed all the good things in my life and in the world in general to a higher power then it would also make me think of all the bad things as well. I think I’d hate them. I think I’d be angry all the time and I have enough to be angry about that I don’t need or want to be able to blame every single problem on this planet on a thing that I don’t even know exists.”

Takashi hummed in response with a slight nod. We continued to sit on the bench for another minute or so, thinking our own thoughts and just enjoying the other’s presence. Takashi stood, holding his hand out to me which I took and continued to hold as we carried on down the path out of the park. When we reached the main road, I automatically turned left to walk towards the University and the station but I felt a tug on my hand. I looked up at Takashi who grinned at me and gestured his head to the right. I followed after him, curious as I knew we were walking away from Tokyo centre but I had no idea what was this way.

Takashi paused and looked to his right then back at me only I was dumfounded. Right in front of me was a tall, red-coral coloured wooden structure with two pillars on either side and two horizontal curved panels above. I knew this was a _tori_ and I couldn’t help the excitement that bubbled up at the thought of there being a Shinto shrine so close to my home. I hadn’t had time to explore much, even though I’d been in Japan now for six months, but I never imagined that something that I’d dreamt of seeing for years was a ten-minute walk from my flat.

“Do you want to go in?” Takashi asked me, leaning down slightly to mumble into my ear. I automatically nodded my head to his question but before I could actually answer he had grabbed my hand and was walking toward the _tori._

“Wait, Takashi, wait! I haven’t prepared, I’m not clean enough! Takashi!” My please however, were ignored by Takashi who continued to drag me until I was just in front of the _tori._ I looked over to him, saw him bow and followed suit then moved to the side of the bath behind Takashi. He made his way down the path encased in trees and it wasn’t long before I could see a small building painted in red and white with the typical Japanese style roof. As we got closer I saw that there was an open window into the main room that had a white sheet over the top of the window and hanging down were red and white fabric knots and what looked like giant Christmas bells.

I gently bumped into Takashi’s back as I was staring at the sheet, trying to understand what was written on it when he had stopped. He was looking down at me with a small smile and I saw that he had stopped in front a water basin with a bamboo shelf on top holding some small ladles. This process was familiar to me as I had spent almost a month studying the significance of the purification process. I picked up a ladle with my right hand, dipping it into the water and pouring a fraction of the water onto my left hand, making sure it fell to the floor. I swapped the ladle into my left hand and poured some onto my right. Putting the ladle back into my right hand, I cupped my left to catch some more water then poured this into my mouth, deciding to swallow it after letting it sit. Then finally I poured the remaining water again into my left hand and then poured it back over the ladle before placing it back on the shelf. I looked over to Takashi for confirmation that I had done it right and found him with that same small smile. He nodded at me before going through the same process I just had.  

We made our way to the left of the building, following the path now lined with small red banners with white writing on them until we reached the main entrance to the shrine.

“I just want to watch.” I said to Takashi who nodded at me after a quick searching glance at me. The shrine was empty, apart from an attendant in the corner, so Takashi was able to go straight up. I watched carefully as he bowed and then bowed again before rising and clapping his hands twice. The sound of his claps were so loud I jumped slightly, even though I had been expecting it. He bowed once more and remained with his head low and hands together in prayer to the _kami._

After a moment or two of silence he bowed once more to the shrine then, after nodding to the attendant, made his way back over to me. I smiled at him in excitement, that had been such an amazing experience. I followed him back down the path to the _tori_ we entered through and he took us left, toward where I had originally expected us to go.

“Did you only want to visit the shrine?” I asked, confused as to why he had done that when he didn’t even know I was interested.

“I wanted to pay my respects.” He replied as if it had been that simple.

“Do you believe in the _kami_ then?” He nodded in response to my question but offered no further explanation. I shrugged off his lack of response, continuing to follow next to him in silence. After a moment I felt a slight pressure on my hand closest to him and realised that he had moved closer so our hands brushed against each other. I could see the upturn of the corners of his mouth, which made me chuckle as I slipped my hand into his. While we walked, I took a moment to feel Takashi’s hand against mine. His skin wasn’t too warm, but a nice, soothing temperature, like a cool pool of water on a summer’s day. His hand was pleasantly rough against my own but the best thing about them was that they were long but muscular, making my hand feel small in his.

“Are we going to the station?” I asked Takashi. I recognised the path through the University as the one I usually took to get to Waseda station. Takashi nodded in response and my excitement kicked up a notch.

“Are we going into Tokyo?” I questioned, pulling myself closer to him so I could smile up at him. His mouth twitched slightly into a smile and he nodded again, making me skip once in excitement. I’d only been into Tokyo centre a handful of times but each time had been fascinating and there was still so much left to explore. We reached the station, got tickets and found seats on the train that was conveniently waiting. The train departed and I shot a smile to Takashi who was intently watching me. As we got closer to the centre of Tokyo I turned my attention to the window on my right, knowing that I would see the island containing the Imperial Palace. Unfortunately, the train was going too fast to properly see it, but the entire island was lush and green, even in the increasingly cold autumn.

Soon the island was behind us and we stood when we reached Nihombashi station, the closest our line would take us to the shopping district of Ginza, where I assumed we were going since this was the stop we got off at. We followed the crowd of people onto the busy streets, continuing down the road until we reached streets lined with shops and restaurants.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello anyone reading!!  
> I am so sorry for not updating!  
> I've been writing my master's thesis for the past year and a half and from November have been working full time.  
> It's been crazy and busy!  
> So, I've got some chapters saved up for you lovelies on AO3!  
> I'll update when I can and I unfortunately can't promise regular updates but I will try my best!  
> Thank you so much for all your support and love!  
> As always, love the feedback!!!!!


	18. Sushi and Trains

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, because I feel so bad, here is another update.  
> Just a short one but I like it still!  
> Enjoy, lovelies!!!!!

 

Takashi’s shoulder pressed against mine as we watched the sushi chef artistically carve the fish on the other side of the counter. I couldn’t take my eyes off of the chef’s movements, his small hands flew through the motions of his work with such speed and assuredness that it was completely fascinating. After a moment, the chef placed a small order of our food in front of us and I winked at Takashi before bowing my head a singing “Itadakimasu”. I heard Takashi chuckle next to me as I picked a tuna nigiri with my chopsticks. A soft moan escaped my throat when I tasted the gloriously fresh fish and the fluffy rice. Takashi turned to smile at me, I returned the smile then wiggled in my seat to show how much I was enjoying it, making Takashi chuckle again.

“That was so good!” I said to him after I’d eaten the other tuna nigiri, leaning my head onto his shoulder.

“Good.” Takashi mumbled, bumping his head lightly into mine. The chef leaned over, placing two salmon and cucumber maki on my plate, and two eel nigiri on Takashi’s.

“Would you like to try one?” I asked Takashi, gesturing to my plate. He turned to me with a small grin then opened his mouth, indicating that he wanted me to feed him. I chuckled, picked one up with my chopsticks then placed it delicately in his open mouth, all the while holding eye contact. I raised an eyebrow in question of how it was to which he nodded in reply, making me smile in response. Before I could reach for my own maki, Takashi picked up one of his eel nigiri and held it out to me.

“I’ve never had eel.” I admitted, biting my lip to build myself up to what I imagined to be quite a slimy food. I noticed Takashi’s deep grey eyes shoot to the lip that I was biting before rising back to my own with a wink. I laughed at the wink which sent a little thrill through me and, shaking my head, I leant forward to take the nigiri in my mouth. I looked away from Takashi as I chewed, releasing a unique taste into my mouth. Swallowing, I turned back to find Takashi staring at me. He smiled at me before eating his own nigiri.

After a few more rounds of small plates, Takashi and I left the restaurant, heading back to the station. It wasn’t long before Takashi grabbed my hand, pulling me closer into him, and I leaned my head onto his shoulder. The streets of Ginza were still busy even though it was dark but it didn’t take us long to reach the station where waited for a train heading back to Waseda. Instead of looking out the windows, my head remained on Takashi’s shoulder and his head fell to rest on mine during the short journey. I took a moment to enjoy Takashi’s scent, turning me head slightly more into his neck; he smelt like a dark garden or a patch of wildflowers that only bloom in the moonlight. His smell was intoxicating, so fresh but dark and tempting at the same time. I allowed my nose to caress his neck and was rewarded with a sharp intake of breath from him. Before I realised it, we were pulling up to our station so we stood and made our way through the University again.

“I’ve enjoyed today.” I informed Takashi, swinging our hands locked between us.

“Me too,” he replied with a soft smile. His eyes lingered on mine for a moment longer than expected making me grin before turning back to watch the path in front of us. The night was quiet around us in comparison to Ginza but you could still hear cars on the main road a few streets over. The small lamps along the paths reflected off the pond and occasionally glistened when a Koi would swim to the surface. Takashi and I walked in silence, enjoying the night air and the pretty park, our hands still firmly locked together. It wasn’t long before we reached the door to my building so I offered Takashi a drink in my flat.

“I want to,” he started and I could sense the “but”, my heart sinking a little. “but if I come upstairs I won’t want to leave.” My heart rate instantly went up at his admission.

“Would that be so bad?” I asked, placing his hand on my waist and leaning into him slightly. I couldn’t describe why I wanted him to stay tonight, but I knew that if I let him go, I would regret it.

“No.” He answered making me frown since he made no movement but continued to stare down at me. “I have work tomorrow.” He explained after a moment, saying it as though that answered everything.

“Do you not have a change of clothes?” I asked, offering him a clear escape route if he decided he wanted one even though every part of me screamed not to.

“I do.” His answer confused me even more.

“So, why is this a problem?”

“I’ll have to get up early tomorrow.”

“I need to too. I have a meeting at ten. If you don’t want to stay then don’t, Takashi.” I was starting to get a little bit frustrated at his unhelpful responses. It was like he wanted me to tell him that I didn’t want him to stay. When the thought occurred to me, I knew that was the case.

“Takashi, I want you to stay tonight. Please?” I asked, wrapping my arms around his neck. After a short pause, he smiled and nodded before heading to his car to grab his change of clothes.

 


	19. His Place

We spent the rest of the night snuggled up in bed, watching the final Lord of the Rings film. I fell asleep just before the final battle scene and didn't wake up until an alarm went off. It was quickly shut off then I felt Takashi shift under me to reach his lips to my temple.

"Good morning." I grumbled with a sleepy smile. He chuckled then whispered a good morning in my ear. I languidly stretched against him being careful not to hurt him. When I'd finished I straddled his hips, leaning up to look down at him with a grin. He grinned up at me, twisting a strand of hair that had fallen out of my plait around his finger.

"I really enjoyed yesterday. Sorry I fell asleep during the film." I said to him, leaning down to peck him on the lips.

"It's okay." He mumbled as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Are we still on for Sunday?" I asked, referring to our Sunday training sessions to which he nodded. I wiggled my hips in excitement and felt his hands tighten on my waist as his eyes darkened with lust. I chuckled at his reaction but only lightly pressed my lips against his nose before climbing off him.

"I'm going to grab a shower." I informed Takashi as I went into the bathroom. I was shampooing my hair when the shower door opened and Takashi climbed in. I shrieked slightly when Takashi opened the door but it turned into a laugh when he came in and wrapped his arms around me.

"You scared me." I chastised him but wrapped my arms around his neck, allowing myself to press up against him.

"I'll make it up to you." He mumbled in my ear. He moved down my neck, leaving scorching kisses and nibbles in his wake. His hands skimmed over my waist as they travelled up my body to my breasts. I moaned softly, tipping my head back so that Takashi had more access to my neck while his hands gently skimmed over my hardened nipples.

One of his hands moved down my body searching for my centre. He slipped his hand easily inside me using two fingers to fill me. I couldn't help the groan of pleasure as his fingers stroked me deep inside.

"I want you to come." He growled in my ear before leaving a sharp bite on my shoulder making me squeal in pain and pleasure. His thumb began to tease me in time to his forceful strokes and it wasn't long before I followed his command.

I leant against the wall, trying to catch my breath as Takashi now gently kissed my neck. When his eyes met mine I leant in to kiss him, taking the time to grab a hold of his bottom lip with my teeth making him groan. I could feel his hardness against my hip so decided to return the favour. 

Swiftly kneeling, I lightly wrapped my hand around his length before flicking my tongue out to tease his tip. His head shot back on a sharp intake of breath encouraging me to cover him with my mouth. I felt his hand grip my hair as I began to move my mouth over him and stroked him with my tongue. His hand tightened in my heart as I fell into a rhythm adding a pressure to encourage me to take him deeper into my mouth. His breathing became heavy as I gradually picked up speed his hand adding more pressure still. I moaned deep in my throat, finally tipping him over the edge and eagerly drank him down.

We finished our shower with only a little more teasing before Takashi left dressed in a navy blue suit that clung to him in such a way that my mouth watered. We agreed to see each other on Sunday then parted with a long kiss.

I bit my lip at the memory of the past two days as I went to make tea. I couldn't believe it had only been two days, it already felt like a lifetime of being together.

 _Well, we're not together_ , I thought with a sigh. We hadn't talked at all about the shift in our sort of friendship so I was left puzzled as to what he wanted from me now. Or even if he wanted anything. The fact that we still were meeting on Sunday gave me hope but there was still a possibility of him cancelling before then.

The thought of Takashi cancelling filled me with sadness. I wanted to see him again, no, I think I needed to see him again. The feeling of longing growing in my chest told me that I was in trouble.

I checked the time and found I had an hour to think about this before I really needed to start getting ready so I took my rapidly cooling tea over to the sofa.

Remembering how if felt when Nick and I had first got together, I compared the two feelings. With Nick it had been exciting, he was the first person I'd been with and so it was all new and fresh. There hadn't really been longing like there was now but when I was in a bad place I always wanted him. I certainly hadn't been this attracted to Nick and it had definitely taken me longer to feel so comfortable around him. After I'd finished me tea I decided that I wanted to try things with Takashi but that I thought that I could still be friends with him if he wasn't interested.

* * *

The next few days went by without any problems and no communication from Takashi. I had a few meetings with businesses for Mei's wedding which all seemed to be going extremely smoothly. I'd found a new book that had given me plenty of inspiration for my studies and generally felt fantastic.

Since I hadn't heard from Takashi, I assumed he would pick me up at the usual time so I got ready and was relieved when he texted to say he was outside. I rushed down to meet him and jumped into the car with a big grin.  I was pleasantly surprised when he leant across to place his lips on mine but the kiss quickly turned intense as his hand gripped my hair. When we parted, his face remained close to mine for a moment, staring deep into my eyes.

“Hi,” he whispered after a moment before leaning back to start driving.

“Hi,” I gasped, my breathing was still heavy from the surprise and intensity of the kiss. “Did you miss me?” I asked with a chuckle when my breath was back.

“Yes.” He answered, his look completely serious. His answer took me off guard, I’d just expected him to smile.

“I missed you too.” I whispered, knowing that he would hear and was rewarded by his face shifting into a bright smile. He reached to turn the radio on to a popular music station and I tapped my foot along to the music for the rest of the journey with a smile plastered onto my face.

When we reached Takashi’s house, I jumped out the car and skipped over the paved drive to grab Takashi’s hand, receiving a warm smile from him. I swung our hands between us as we walked up to his house. It was a very modern looking home with three clear floors obvious through large windows. The rooves were flatter than traditional Japanese houses but still came out quite a way over the house. The interior was mainly a warm oak with large, open-plan rooms and lots of light.

Takashi shut the door behind us and I waited for him to lead the way through to his dojo. Instead of walking down the hallway though Takashi grabbed me by my waist and pulled me into him. He grinned down at me as his thumbs traced intoxicating circles on my lower back. I raised my eyebrow at him suggestively as heat began to wash over me. I watched Takashi’s stormy eyes darken with lust and curved my body so my breasts pressed against his chest and my bum curved out under his hands. I felt the growl in his chest go through me before he lowered his hands to squeeze me and pull me even closer into him. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I bit my lip and was satisfied when his dark eyes shot to my mouth. Before I could even blink, his lips were against mine, his tongue sharply delving into my mouth to coax a moan from my throat.

_Smash!_


	20. Spies

Takashi and I broke apart, staring intently at where the sound came from. Before I could blink, Takashi had pulled me behind him but I still looked around, placing my hand on his back so he knew where I was. After a few moments and no more sounds, Takashi began to move away but a flash of blond out the corner of my eye made me grab onto his tense arm to stop him. He looked at me questioningly, but my eyes were locked onto the mirror at the end of the hallway that I had seen the movement in. As I watched, a head popped up making me jump but I instantly recognised the annoying creature that head belonged to.

"Tamaki!" I shouted making Takashi turn back towards the noise, instantly understanding what had happened. A few seconds later, a guilty looking Tamaki shuffled round the corner from the living room.

"Why were you hiding?" I asked him, folding my arms and putting on my disapproving aunt face. He looked up at me with puppy dog eyes that shimmered with tears before looking back to the ground.

"Tamaki," Takashi prompted, his eyes glinting slightly. Tamaki raised his eyes again, this time to Takashi, but realising they had no effect he decided to answer.

"We came round to see you. We were waiting in the dojo but I needed to use the bathroom and then I saw you and got scared so tried to hide but then broke your vase." Tamaki rambled his puppy dog eyes growing larger with every word.

"Again, why were you hiding?" I asked. Tamaki's eyes shot between Takashi and I now looking panicked.

"Tamaki, what's taking so long? Takashi will be here any min-" Honey said as he walked round the same corner as Tamaki to stop dead when he spotted Takashi and I.

"Mitsukuni," Takashi growled next to me. Honey paled but his eyes went wide, mimicking Tamaki's earlier expression. "Why are you here?" Takashi asked, his anger clearly showing.

"We just wanted to see you but you weren't here so we waited." Honey insisted. The puppy dog look worked better for Honey but I could tell Takashi was too angry to be effected. I, on the other hand, just thought it was hilarious but I kept my thoughts quiet knowing that Takashi needed to handle this himself.

"Mitsukuni!" Takashi warned. His eyes glinted again and I saw Tamaki nervously start to back away.

"We just wanted to see you!" Honey insisted, he puppy dog eyes now replaced by an irritated look. Clearly he didn't like it when Takashi didn't believe him. Both Tamaki and I could feel the tension building but it was fortunately broken by the Hitachiin twins who seemed to appear out of nowhere on either side of Tamaki.

"What's all this about?" The one on the right asked.

"Yeah, we were just about to leave. It was so boring!" Said the one on the left.

I was once again reminded that I should learn the names of the twins. There were clear differences between the two but I didn't have a name to place to each one.

"Who else is here?" I asked, eagerly latching on to the opportunity they had given to calm the situation. 

"Haruhi is back in the dojo." They replied in sync and I saw Honey's eyes widen slightly at the mention of her location. A voice in the back of my mind reminded me that Mei had known about Takashi and I training together and I noticed that Takashi had come to a similar conclusion to me.

"I think Mei said that you two were helping her with her wedding dress. How's it coming along?" I asked them desperately trying to shift the tension now as Takashi continued to glare at Honey. 

"Oh yeah! We have the sketch book." The one on the right said.

"We can show you." Said the other.

"That would be great!" I exclaimed somewhat too enthusiastically and speed walked over to them. I looked over my shoulder at Takashi as the twins guided me through the house and saw that he had held back Honey and he looked a bit calmer. He caught my eye and gave me a nod of appreciation for giving them some space and I smiled warmly back at him before following the twins and Tamaki.

I sat on the white sofa as they instructed while they went to get their bag and Haruhi. Tamaki awkwardly sat next me and I raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, his deep blue eyes staring a hole through his lap.

"For what?"

"For seeing you two ... you know."

"Ah, I thought that was why you were hiding. It's okay, Tamaki. Besides it's not really your fault."

"It's not?"

"No. I think it's more Honey's fault for bringing you round here to spy." I saw Tamaki's eyes widen in surprise at my comment.

"How did you know?" He asked, shocked.

"Mei already knew that Takashi and I were meeting to train and she'd previously enlisted Honey's help. It wasn't too hard to put two and two together." I chuckled. Tamaki nodded solemnly before his eyes went wide again but this time with excitement.

"So are you and Takashi together?" Tamaki gasped. His hands grasped mine and he wiggled in his seat like a puppy making me chuckle at his strange actions.

"I don't know. We haven't really spoken about it yet." I replied.

"Do you want to be?"

"Well," I paused remembering what Mei had said about my conversation with Nanako. "Yeah. I think I would." Tamaki wiggled again in his seat at my response.


	21. Dresses

"That's so exciting! You could get married with Mei and Bossanova!" Tamaki exclaimed far too loud for my liking.

"Tamaki, shush. I think you mean Kasanoda not Bossanova and besides, we've only been on one date and I guess it wasn't even technically a date so we won't be getting married anytime soon. I mean we may not even get married -" I stopped myself as the twins walked back into the room with Haruhi gripped between them.

"Hi, Haruhi." I groaned, pleased that someone had come to stop my awkward rambling. She smiled at me with a slight wave before she was engulfed by Tamaki's embrace. I chuckled slightly at Haruhi's apathetic look but turned to smile politely at the twins when they sat on either side of me.

"I'm really sorry, I feel bad about this, but no one has told me which of you is Hikaru and which is Kaoru." I informed them with a guilty pout. They looked at each other and rolled their eyes. The one on my left with the darker hair informed me he was Hikaru and the one on my right with the lighter hair informed me he was Kaoru.  I nodded, glancing at them both again to make sure I sealed the information away, assigning a name to the tidbits I already knew. Kaoru pulled out an A3 sketch book from seemingly nowhere then flipped a few pages in.

"This is Mei's dress. She wanted a princessy dress at first but we managed to convince her to go for a loose mermaid fit. The train isn't too long in case it snows so she added a lot of appliqué and lace to the train that follows all the way up the back." As Hikaru said this, Kaoru flipped to the next page that was a back view of the dress showing how the lace and decorations followed the silhouette of the dress all the way up the back.

"She then wanted a low-cut back to the dress when she decided to go for a mermaid but we then managed to convince her to go for a lace-up back so it will hug her figure more. She went for a light pink colour for parts of the decoration so these are light pink pearls and the belt is light pink." Kaoru explained with the occasional gesture to points on the sketch.

"It's beautiful. Great job, guys. When will it be ready?" I asked after going over the drawings again.

"Next week." They replied in sync. I nodded as I automatically flipped to the next page. This was a sketch of a light pink floor length dress that came in elegantly at the waist with a halter neck and ruffles hanging from the neckline. The skirt fell in layers of what I assumed would be tulle with a white belt and similar decorations to the one's on Mei's dress. From the short bob of brown hair on the model in the sketch I could tell this was Haruhi's bridesmaid dress.

"Oh. This will be perfect on her! It's so elegant! She'll make a great maid of honour!" I gasped, carefully running my hand over the delicate drawing.  I saw the twins grin at each other from the corner of my eye before they leant in, placing their chins on my shoulders.

"Do you want to see something else?" They asked me in sync and I suppressed at snicker at my dirty mind.

"Depends what it is." I replied with a cheeky grin. Without even responding, they flipped to the next page to reveal one of the most gorgeous dresses I had ever seen. It was a dusky lavender colour with pale pink decorations, again, similar to Mei's dress. The top was off the shoulders with long lace sleeves that stopped at the wrists but the lace covered the entire dress so the lavender was visible under the rich grey. The top clung to the models ample chest and was secured by a light pink belt. The skirt flowed out around the models knees allowing for easy movement without being puffy. A delicate pair of lavender heels wrapped in the same lace graced the models feet with a small flower over the foot strap in a light pink.

"Wow." Was all I could say.

"Do you like it?" They asked in unison.

"It's beautiful!" I whispered still mesmerised by the dress and the coy look the model threw back at me over her shoulder.

"I want to see Mei-chan's dress too!" Honey squealed as he came running into the room a calm looking Takashi following him. I smiled at Takashi who gave me a reassuring nod in reply. Honey climbed onto the back of the sofa so his head popped in between mine and Kaoru's and Hikaru flicked back to the pages if Mei's dress. His large brown eyes sparkled as he mumbled about how cute she will be, Takashi leant over the other side of my face to get a clearer look then nodded in agreement with Honey.

"Are you still mad at us Mori?" Tamaki asked with a hopeful expression. Takashi smiled softly as he moved over to Tamaki where he still clung to Haruhi and Takashi just patted his blond head as a response.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very sorry this has taken me so long to post! It's been a rough year so far.  
> Thank you for reading!


	22. A Fall

"I want to see Hannah-chan fight, Takashi!" Honey exclaimed after an hour or so of watching the twins pester Tamaki. Takashi looked to me to ask for permission and I bit my lip in indecision.

"I'm not any good, Honey. I've only just started training." I explained but was quickly won over by his large chocolate eyes. Takashi led the group through to the dojo attached to the left wing of the house. I excused myself then went to change in the small bathroom just before the door to the dojo. I pulled the workout gear from my bag then cringed as I remembered I'd left the gi Takashi had lent me here so he could wash it. Feeling extremely awkward, I pulled on my tight yoga pants that stopped above my knees and changed my regular bra for the underwired sports one that was my favourite. Cringing, I left my bag with my earlier clothes just inside the door to the dojo before making my way over to the group in the middle of the room.

"Takashi, do you have your gi?" I asked, trying to be as discreet as possible. Takashi turned to hand me the gi folded neatly in his hands but as soon as his eyes hit me he froze and everyone noticed so turned to also stare at me. I mumbled a thanks, reaching for the gi as everyone but Haruhi gaped at me. Quickly yanking on the bottoms then covering myself with the top, I attempted to suppress the blush that I was pretty sure had turned my entire body tomato red before carefully tying the ties on the top to keep it shut and then doing up the belt.

"Shall I start running?" I asked Takashi while I finished knotting my belt, without looking up. I heard him 'hmm' in conformation so started jogging around the perimeter of  _tatami_  mats covering the floor. Counting each lap, I took the time to calm down from my embarrassment. Although I had lost a lot of weight, I still had stretch marks and extra bits that weren't there for most girls, so I had not been prepared to show all of that to these guys, I only sort of felt comfortable to do that with Takashi. It was different in that sort of setting anyway, it's unlikely they'll be looking at that sort of thing when there are far more interesting parts on show. After a few laps of self-pity, I kicked myself up the arse, running harder and putting my big-girl boots back on.  _If they have an issue with it they can just kiss my cellulite ridden ar-_

My thoughts were abruptly halted as my foot caught on something and the floor came rushing up to meet me. My hands took the full force of my fall and I instantly knew something had gone wrong with my fall as a familiar sharp throb shot through my right arm. I took the weight off my hand as fast as possible, rolling roughly onto my back and gripping my right arm with my left. My eyes were squeezed tightly as I took in shallow breaths to try to make the pain subside. I felt arms curve under my taught body but the slight movement sent another stab of pain through me, now reaching my shoulder so I was unable to wave them away. There was a dull throbbing in my ears that stopped me from hearing the voice I could feel coming from the person carrying me but I could tell I was being moved and I assumed I was being taken to the living room.

Eventually, I became used the pain so was able to open my eyes to see the living room and Takashi above me. His eyes were an almost silver colour as his face contorted with worry which relaxed somewhat when my eyes met his.

"Ow." I whispered, still winded from the pain. "What happened?" Takashi's head swivelled to glare at Honey in response to my question and when I looked to Honey I saw him crying and apologising. Before I could stop him, Honey rushed up to cling onto me as he cried but his arm wrapped over my almost numb wrist as he nuzzled into me, efficiently kicking the pain from a dull throb in my forearm to a severe piercing sensation travelling from just below my wrist to my shoulder. My eyes went dark for a moment as my body readjusted to the pain and I could feel tears starting to fall but I was unable to do anything but wallow in the pain. I could feel Honey being pulled off me and then a cool hand reached for my face, softly caressing away my tears.

"-all an ambulance?" I heard a gentle, familiar voice say. My mind was still too deep in the pain for me to place the voice but I knew those words. Although I couldn't hear my own voice, I knew I had started to protest an ambulance. Before I could understand what was happening, I felt myself being moved again and I was pretty sure I was being   
moved outside as a sharp breeze hit me. Sitting upright, I was placed down, my vision began to clear and I could see dark hair leaning over me as I felt slight pressure embrace my torso. My arm was tenderly shifted away from my chest then put back to its safe position but this time I felt a rough fabric under my hand and I assumed it was a seat belt.

There was a mumbling behind me that kept being broken as if someone were talking to someone who wasn't there. Quickly, the mumbling stopped and my body settled back into the throb of pain, allowing me to look around me slightly. My hearing was still muffled as I saw that the radio was on but I couldn't hear it.

"Hannah," I heard a deep voice say from my left and I slowly turned to see Takashi driving but his dark eyes keep flicking to meet mine.

"I'm okay, I don't think it's broken." I whisper, unable to make any more sound.

"Are you sure?" He asks after a moment. I nod, staring at the concern on his face in wonder. Looking out of the front window, I see we're driving back in to Tokyo but not the way Takashi usually travels to and from my flat.

"Where are we going?" I ask, my voice louder this time.

"Kyoya's working at one of the hospitals near here today so we called him. They'll be ready for when we get there." I heard the voice from earlier come from behind me and was now able to place it as Haruhi's. I turned my head to smile at her in thanks.

"Did you grab my bag?" I asked her. She shook her head, slightly confused at my priority. My body instantly went cold at her response.

"Shit!" I exclaimed. "Takashi, I'll be fine. I know it's not broken, please just take me home. I just need some ice on it."

"You're going to the hospital."

"Takashi-" I started but was immediately cut off by Takashi's stern glare. I let my head lie against the headrest as I watched Takashi while he drove. As we got nearer to the hospital, I noticed his jaw relax but his eyes kept flicking to me to check if I was okay. I noticed these things but I could feel a sob trying to break its way free from my throat. I refused to look at my hand; this hurt far more than it had the last two times I'd hurt it and I knew as soon as I allowed myself to focus on that part of my anatomy, the pain would come right back to the forefront of my mind.

Takashi pulled into a space right opposite the front entrance, Kyoya stood on the path next to the space and he handed a card to Takashi who put it in the window of his car. Meanwhile, Haruhi had already jumped out of the car, rushing to open my door for me and help with my belt. I smiled at her in thanks then carefully walked up to Kyoya feeling almost too ashamed to meet his eyes. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him turn and make his way into the hospital and, before I could follow him, I felt a hand on the small of my back, leading me after him with urgency.

Kyoya led us to a small room with a bed, gesturing for me to sit on it, before introducing a young doctor who smiled at me warmly.

"What seems to be the problem?" The doctor asked me, moving his chair closer to me.

"I fell." I mumbled lamely. The doctor quirked a smile at me offering his hand to take my wrist, clearly guessing from the way it was held that it was the problem.

"You put your hands out to catch you?"

"Yes, I was sprinting at the time."

"What sort of pain is it?"

"Can you speak English?" The doctor nodded in response to my question.

 _"It was an instant sharp stab along here,"_  I gestured to the inside curve of my wrist at this.  _"Then it moved through my whole hand and up into my arm. It feels like my hand and wrist are kind of numb at the moment but the stabbing pain goes from my forearm up to my shoulder."_

"There's no pain in your wrist?"

"I think a slight throb but not really."

"I'll press around the area and you tell me where it hurts the most, okay?" I nodded permission then instantly wished I hadn't. The doctor's warm hands probed the middle of the back of my hand and my head instinctively shot back at the pain. Still in the middle, he moved to my wrist and my body jolted. Moving to the outside of my hand, he continued to probe causing less intense reactions so I informed the doctor of the change. He nodded then made his way back towards the inside of my wrist. When he touched slightly more inward than his initial probe, my eyes widened as my vision went slightly dim, my breathing becoming extremely shallow. The doctor moved in again pressing on top of my hand and a tear fell as I reached to grab hold of Takashi's hand that I could feel on my lap, his other hand traced soothing circles on my lower back. The final pressure from the doctor, just under my thumb joint made me cry out loud, my head turning into Takashi's strong chest as I finally couldn't hold back the sobs.

The doctor let my hand fall back to my lap but I didn't hear anything else as I now cried silently into Takashi's shirt. I felt his arms wrap around me, taking care not to touch my sensitive arm and my crying began to calm down thanks to his soothing presence. After a few moment, I pulled back from his safe embrace and was greeted by Kyoya's hand offering me tissues.

"Sorry, I didn't think that would hurt that much." I mumbled, now feeling embarrassed at my lack of control. Haruhi smiled at me reassuringly, Takashi began to trace circles on my back again and Kyoya just nodded his head to me.

"They're scheduling an x-ray for you now so they shouldn't be long." Kyoya informed me, knowing that I wouldn't have heard what the doctor said.

"Do they think it's broken?" I asked him.

"Yes, they think it's probably torn ligaments as well as a fracture. They'll schedule an MRI as soon as possible for you."

The doctor came back in without knocking, informing me that he would take me to radiology to get the x-ray and that everyone else should wait in the room. I offered Haruhi and Kyoya a timid smile and gave Takashi's hand that I still held a reassuring squeeze before carefully following after the doctor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I feel bad for taking ages to post! Hope you enjoyed!  
> Would love any feedback!


	23. Recovery

"Thank you for your help, Kyoya." I mumbled to the man leaning against the wall opposite me. The small room was empty apart from him and I; Haruhi had gone to tell the guys what had happened when they arrived and Takashi had gone to get me a drink.

"It was at the request of Mori and Haruhi." He shrugged, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"Still, you didn't have to do that, so thank you." I continued, feeling extremely embarrassed about the whole situation. Kyoya turned his head to observe me from the corner of his eye, I could feel his analysing gaze attempting to bore its way into my soul.

"So what is going on between you two?" He asked me. I knew he was starting to test me, to see how I would respond to 'who' he was talking about, to see how I really felt about him. I respected this about Kyoya, his curiosity for people and what made them tick. I smiled slightly at him, steeling myself to tell him the truth.

"I don't know, if I'm honest." I said after a moment of thinking.

"Well, that's anticlimactic." He mumbled with a raised brow. I couldn't help but laugh at his blunt response and I saw a quick flash of a smile shoot across his face.

"We've spent a bit of time together and I think we get along well but we haven't really spoke about it so I don't know." I clarified as I continued to chuckle at his earlier statement.

"How much time have you spent together?" He asked.

"Exactly 15 hours, 33 minutes and 42 seconds." I said and paused to see his reaction before laughing as he gave me a droll look. "I don't know. We've seen each other a few times and spent a day together."

"The day?" He asked and I nodded. "And the night?" He continued making me glare at him slightly as I nodded in reply. He smirked at me, knowing exactly what we were both talking about.

"Is that all it is?" He asked after a moment. I shrugged in response as I registered my nerves had kicked up a notch at his question. "Is that all you want it to be?" I looked up at him at this, his look seemed softer now as if he cared about my answer. I shook my head making him smile slightly.

There was a knock on the door, Kyoya called out and the doctor walked back in with a warm smile, taking his seat again in front of me.

"It looks like your wrist is broken and we can see some torn tissue in the x-ray but we'll have to wait for the MRI to find the extent of the damage. For the time being we'll give you a temporary cast and some medication for the pain then you'll have to come back for the MRI and based on that we'll give you a more permanent cast." The doctor said with a gentle smile and I just nodded, trying to keep up with the unfamiliar Japanese words. He pulled over a small table, digging through a draw to find the items he needed before moving my hand gently in position so that he could start to put the cast on.

Takashi came back carrying a bottle of water not long after the doctor started. He smiled at me softly, taking the lid off the bottle before handing it to me making me smile at him gratefully. I turned to see Kyoya carefully observing us with a slight smirk so I stuck my tongue out at him making him frown before turning away.

"All finished. We'll get in touch with you to let you know when your MRI and permanent casting will be. Here is a prescription for pain medication. Make sure you read the instructions carefully. Other than that, you can go." The doctor informed me, handing me the prescription. I nodded and thanked him as I got up, leaving the room with Kyoya and Takashi following. A hand was placed on the small of my back and I turned to see Takashi looking down at me as he led us through the halls.

"Hannah-chan!" I heard a familiar voice exclaim and saw a I bullet of blond shoot towards we so I quickly lifted my arms up, out of his way. I hugged him back, careful to not scrape him with my rough plaster cast. I could hear him mumbling apologies through his tears.

"Honey, it's okay, you didn't mean to. I'm all better now." I mumbled to him, leaning my head down to rest against his as it nuzzled into my shoulder. I pulled back after a moment to smile at the group of men and Haruhi that stood around us and Honey pulled back to look up at Takashi, tears still clinging to his eyelashes.

"Let's take Hannah home." Takashi said, patting his hand onto Honey's head, making the tears instantly disappear as he beamed up at his cousin.

                                                                      *  *  *

"So what did I actually trip over?" I asked, looking around at everyone as we sat in Takashi's living room an hour or so later.

"Your clothes." The twins replied in unison as Honey looked away sheepishly.

"What?" I asked, looking to Takashi and Haruhi.

"Honey decided to have a look through your bag while you were warming up," Kaoru said.

"He left it in your way while we were all distracted," Hikaru continued. They quickly smirked at each other before Hikaru reached into his pocket and pulled out a small foil packet, "By this!" They finished their explanation while brandishing the very obvious item. My mouth dropped open as a bubble of laughter slipped up my throat.

"Is that true?" I chuckled to Takashi who nodded with a slight glare at the twins. I couldn't help but laugh at the whole thing.

"What is it, Hannah-can? No one would tell me." Honey exclaimed making me turn to gape at him in confusion. He seemed to be completely genuine in his curiosity but I didn't have the heart to tell him what it actually was.

"It's a pack of ramen flavour." I replied as I stood to grab the packet from the twins with a wink. They instantly burst out laughing at my lie and I saw Kyoya's lips quirk into a smirk as I sat back down.

"Interesting flavour." Kyoya mumbled.

"Yeah, it's not my favourite."

"Don't they do strawberry ones as well?" Kaoru asked, still chuckling with his brother.

"Yeah, and chocolate!" Hikaru quipped, throwing his arm around his brother as they howled with laughter.

"And bacon," I said informatively. Their mouths dropped open as they stared at me in shock.

"Is that true?" They asked in unison, completely disgusted. I nodded solemnly making them, Kyoya and Takashi cringe at the thought.

"Yeah, bacon's alright, but I prefer sausage." I couldn't help but reply after a moment of them all laughing. Everyone froze at my words before I snorted, the laugh that had been building throughout the exchange finally getting the best of me. The twins were crying with laughter while Kyoya and Takashi smirked at my remark. Haruhi rolled her eyes with a slight smile but Tamaki and Honey just looked completely confused.

"What flavour is it then, Hannah?" Tamaki asked after we stopped laughing, looking completely confused. I gave Haruhi a pitying look just shaking my head as a response.

"I'll tell you later." I heard her mumble to Tamaki, her tone making me laugh again.

"Hannah-chan?" Honey called me so I turned to look at him with a smile. "You should stay with Takashi tonight!" He insisted, a very serious look on his face.

"Why?" I asked, flicking my eyes to Takashi who gave me a look that said he agreed with his cousin.

"He's really good at waking up so he'll be able to give you your pills in the night so you don't wake up in too much pain. And if you need anything he'll be able to help you because he isn't working tomorrow." Honey replied with a very serious nod.

"Well, I guess it's up to Takashi." I mumbled after a moment, suddenly feeling very anxious. I saw Takashi nod out of the corner of my eye making me bite my lip in indecision. A part of me was so excited at the thought that Takashi would be willing to let me spend the night at his house but another rebelled against the fact that I would be putting that much trust into him by letting him help me even though I could easily handle it on my own. "That's really sweet of you," I said, making sure to not actually say I would stay round. I felt Takashi tense next to me, knowing what my response meant but before he could say anything, I excused myself.

Taking a minute in the bathroom, I stared at myself in the mirror above the sink, trying to figure out what I really wanted. It was hard to shut the voice up in my head that told me I was being a big baby for not instantly saying yes, but I could tell this was something I needed to think about. I could tell part of me was scared, like the night Mei had first suggested we should get together, and I thought it might be for a similar reason.

I wasn't sure if I was ready to put that much trust in him. We hadn't really known each other for that long but I knew that he would actually help me where Nick would just say he would help but then not really do anything. That meant that I really would have to trust Takashi enough to allow him to help me. I didn't know if I was ready for that.

After a moment I decided that I still wasn't sure but was willing to give it a go. The thing that really got me though was the fact that I would be staying round Takashi's. This was different to him staying round mine. This wasn't a "you're here so stay" sort of situation. I was specifically staying in order for him to help me. Unless that was just Honey saying that and Takashi didn't actually want to help me.

I paused at that thought and was about to let out a heavy sigh when I heard a light knock on the door. I quickly checked myself in the mirror before opening the door with a small smile. Takashi stood there with a frown, leaning slightly against the wall opposite. His currently dark grey eyes pinned me to the spot, clearly asking me about the situation.

"Sorry, I just needed to think." I explained, finding my eyes blinking rapidly as I struggled to think of what to say and meet his eyes.

"About?" He asked me quietly. I took a deep breath, steeling myself to say what I had to.

"Us." 


	24. Confessions

Grey eyes held mine captive, a turbulent sea imprisoned by a storm. The silence wrapped around us like an old friend, both our minds working to figure out what to say. My mind shifted, distracted by the storm, settling into the comfort of the turbulence it created. My body going crazy, my stomach in knots, my throat tight and my breathing shallow. Deeper, though, there was a lightness within me that I hadn’t felt in a very long time. It was a calm that smiled at the storm and welcomed it as it enjoyed the thrill of it but knew that the true joy would come when the storm had calmed.

My eyes widened slightly at that thought and Takashi’s narrowed in response, as if asking what had happened. The calm gave me the confidence to say something, finally.

“Takashi,” I started, my voice sounded croaky so I cleared my throat. “Look, I think this is starting to be something a bit more than just friendship for me and if you don’t feel the same then I understand but I need you to know now before it’s too late.” My mouth moved of its own volition, I barely had any idea of what I’d just said to him. Takashi looked completely shocked and my heart raced, wondering if I’d said something completely crazy. I realised after a minute of him staring at me that I hadn’t actually explained why I needed to think about that.

“I had to think about it because this isn’t like when you stayed round mine, this is more than that. I had to make sure that I was okay with it being more than that and I realised that I actually wanted it to be more.” I paused, able to now think over what I had just said. “Did that make sense?” I asked him making his face soften into a smile as he shook his head at me.

“I understand,” He replied after a moment. “I’m just-” He paused looking at me again before smiling softly. “I didn’t think it mattered to you.”

“I didn’t want it to.” I admitted. He nodded, not needing me to say more in explanation. His large hand came up to caress my cheek before he leant in to kiss my forehead softly. I smiled as the lightness grew inside me on a sigh and when he pulled back I saw a similar smile on his face. He grasped my good hand and pulled me next to him to walk back into the living room where everyone else sat.

I saw Kyoya's gaze catch on our joined hands but no one else seemed to notice as we sat. The twins were arguing with Tamaki about something which I inferred was about how they should do her hair for Mei's wedding. Haruhi looked dejectedly at the wall opposite her, oblivious of the argument or purposely ignoring it. Honey watched on in fascination, adding his own opinion occasionally. Kyoya stood in a corner with his phone to his ear but his eyes were clearly latched onto Takashi and me.

"So you'll stay?" Takashi asked me in a whisper. I turned to look at him and that familiar lightness washed through me.

"Do you want me to?" I asked in response. He smiled softly at me before nodding and caressing the back of my hand in his with his thumb. I smiled back at him, excited to see what the night would bring.

                                                                     * * *

“Bye, Hannah-chan!” Honey called, leaning out the window of his car. I waved back with a small chuckle before Takashi wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me back inside after saying goodbye to the host club.

"I'm quite hungry, shall we order in considering it's late?" I asked Takashi as he guided me into the living room. He nodded but only pulled me down to sit next to him on the sofa. One large hand rested on my thigh while his other arm wrapped tighter around my waist, pulling me into him as he smiled down warmly at me.

"What?" I asked, his smile making my cheeks warm slightly with what I assumed was a blush. In reply, Takashi simply lifted his hand from my thigh and traced his knuckles along my cheek, his smile softening into an intense, thrilling stare. My breath caught in my throat as my heart began to beat rapidly against his hand that lightly curled behind my neck. 

"I'm glad you're staying tonight." He mumbled after what felt like an eternity.

"Me too." I replied on a soft sigh before his lips settled against mine in a tender caress. 

**Author's Note:**

> Just a warning, I have also posted this on Wattpad. I am the same creator and I will endeavour to update both at the same time.
> 
> Would love any feedback :)


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